Being tall...love it or hate it?

I used to hate my height during my teenage years. I grew 4 inches one summer after grade 9 and started my grade 10 year at 5'10". I never got used to the height and slouched a lot. High school was tough and I was already being teased for being flat-chested that I tried to look shorter so the kids wouldn't have any more ammo to use on me.

As I approached adulthood, I learned to appreciate my height and that it was not all that bad. Shopping for pants was and still is a nightmare but you tend to get noticed a lot by the opposite sex :) I'm lucky my husband is 6'4" and he is still taller than me when I wear heels.

I just went to the doctor's office for a physical and now I'm 5'9 (and a 1/4"). I defiantly told the nurse that she was wrong and I'm 5'10". Well, at soon to be 42 years of age, osteoporosis has set in and I shrunk. I thought I would be happier being shorter (at least I would have in my younger years) but I l have learned to ove my height and now I miss it.

Replies

  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    I'm 5'9" and like you, I hit a very early growth spurt. I grew about 7 inches between 7th & 8th grade. It was awful towering over everyone else my age,

    Now, I'm fine with it. I like that being taller means a higher TDEE. :-)
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    Now love being 5'11, but ask me 20-25 years ago I would have given a different answer! I grew quickly in middle school and I just stopped. The worst was posing in photos with my girlfriends where I stuck out like a giraffe! It was a little tough growing up tall, but having a tall family and a very tall high school/college bf definitely helped.

    I got to a certain point after I turned 30 where I came to accept and embrace my height. I don't mind helping shorter people grab things from the top shelves at the grocery stores once in a while, but I get tired of questions or getting noticed at times. I've never played basketball or modeled professionally.

    My partner is 6'1 and I'm thankful I'm comfortable enough being with a man that's not much taller than me (and vice versa) because I would have missed out on a great guy!
  • SuperCrsa
    SuperCrsa Posts: 790 Member
    I'm 6ft2, LOVE IT!

    Was different when I was younger, being the tallest girl in your town does something in your head lol. There was a lot of teasing from girls and a lot of fist fights with boys in primary school who I still believe were intimidated and need to prove something with their little baby testosterone.

    But now I am so thankful I am tall, love my height!
    Comment that grinds me every single time: "Wow you are so tall!!" Like no, really, you don't say? I hadn't noticed that thank you very much. :laugh:
  • SuperCrsa
    SuperCrsa Posts: 790 Member
    Now, I'm fine with it. I like that being taller means a higher TDEE. :-)

    Amen! I was also so excited about that! hehe.
  • stephcalcott
    stephcalcott Posts: 84 Member
    Love being tall and always have! I was 5'11 but now I'm 5'10 - 5'10 1/2 half on a good day - lol!

    I think the timing of our growth spurt has a lot to do with how we feel about being tall. I was fairly average in height until my Jr. year in high school, and kept growing until the end of my sophmore year in college. It was slow and steady rather than shooting up so I had time to get used to it. On the other side, my girlfriend was her full height of 5'11 in 6th grade. People were NOT nice to her then - lots of teasing so she used to wish she was shorter.

    The only time I even notice my height is when I'm standing next to a particularly short person. Then I sometimes feel a little like an amazon but I still wouldn't trade it. Funny - I had to go to Honduras for work a few weeks ago and I'm pretty sure I'm taller than the entire nation. When I was in our office, I towered over everyone - male and female. I was like the jolly green giant!
  • shezzzzz
    shezzzzz Posts: 119 Member
    5'10 since I was 12, but my best guy friend was 6'4 at the same time so any height related teasing went to him. One of my sisters is taller than I, the other two are slightly shorter than me.

    I love being tall.
  • nogoldilocs
    nogoldilocs Posts: 87 Member

    The only time I even notice my height is when I'm standing next to a particularly short person. Then I sometimes feel a little like an amazon but I still wouldn't trade it. Funny - I had to go to Honduras for work a few weeks ago and I'm pretty sure I'm taller than the entire nation. When I was in our office, I towered over everyone - male and female. I was like the jolly green giant!

    That made me laugh about you being the tallest person in Honduras. I had the opposite experience recently when I was in Amsterdam where so many people were freakishly tall. At 6' 2" I wasn't even the tallest woman around. It was so interesting to be "average" height there.

    Oh, and a grateful thanks to my mom who would not put up with my efforts to slouch to more closely match the height of my peers. Very tall **and** slouchy was not going to happen, as far as she was concerned. Since my height was not something I could actually change, she encouraged me to embrace it and to be proud of it (she is 5'6"). That really helped me so much.
  • feiAngel
    feiAngel Posts: 5 Member
    I was 57cm/23" when I was born, so I had no hope of ever being short. I was 5'2" at 11, and a growth spurt saw me reach 5'10" at 13, before topping out at 6'1". (184cm) I hated the physical issues that came from the growth spurt, as it was uneven and I needed corrective surgery on my ribs and I was left with a scoliosis that meant back trouble for the next 35 years til 18 months ago. For all that, I loved being tall. I even did some modelling when I was much much younger and I couldn't put on weight no matter how much I ate.
    Of course, that came back to bite me when my metabolism eventually slowed, and my height disguised just how much additional weight I was carrying. Even now, with 20kg to go to my goal, I have people saying that I don't need to lose any more. They don't see what I see in the mirror once the clothes come off. I know that I still have to take it slowly to allow for the skin to shrink back as I abandon the extra kilos. I had a great NSV this week, out and about in exercise gear and pink tee shirt and got a couple of whistles for the first time in years. I am sure that it is partly due to my height, but it was nice anyway. Overall I like being tall. Of course, it helps that my husband is tall enough for me to wear heels and he is still taller than me.
  • jadedhippo
    jadedhippo Posts: 95 Member
    Im 6ft and I hated being this tall until recently. I was bullied all through my school years because of it. I also have a hard time finding guys I like that are at least 6 2 (i like wearing platform shoes and wedges). I hope ill learn to like my height a bit more once I lose 20lbs
  • carakit
    carakit Posts: 126 Member
    Im 6'2" and I have always loved being tall. The only part I hate about it is trying to find clothes that fit properly. But being tall helped me get a college scholarship I wouldnt have been able to go to college otherwise.
  • gonesewing
    gonesewing Posts: 63 Member
    I am 5 11 1/2 and I love it. My mom always taught me to be proud of my height. She was 5 6 and always tried to be taller :P (heels and that beehive hair thing that added about 5 inches!) . I remember as a kid finding that hair piece of hers in the bathroom and it freaked me out big time, lol. She loved my height so I never thought of it as a negative, always a positive. Even now, at 43 people still comment on it. I don't think I have shrunk yet, I still get friends asking if I have grown :P. The only negative for me is some stretch marks at the top of my legs from growing fast as a kid :(.
  • gonesewing
    gonesewing Posts: 63 Member
    I'm 6ft2, LOVE IT!

    ...sniped...

    But now I am so thankful I am tall, love my height!
    Comment that grinds me every single time: "Wow you are so tall!!" Like no, really, you don't say? I hadn't noticed that thank you very much. :laugh:

    LOL, this is so true!! :laugh:
  • lacaro1
    lacaro1 Posts: 81 Member
    LOVE it of course, but at 5'9 I am a bit of a shortie compared to you girls;)
  • pkiesch
    pkiesch Posts: 259 Member
    LOVE it! Never have hated it but was definitely uncomfortable with myself during the middle school years when I really grew. From high school up until the present I've flaunted it! No point in trying to hide, doesn't work @ 6' haha
  • I like reading this post because so many people have short moms (my mom is 5'5"....5'5.5" if you ask her) that encouraged them to embrace the height. I started growing when I was in 6th grade and I always disliked being tall most of the time because finding clothes that fit was always so hard and meeting guys was always rough! I went through a phase where I was very proud of my height (college and shortly after) and would wear heels and strut with confidence. Now that I've overweight, I don't have that same confidence and I feel so self-conscious, like my height and weight are the first thing that people notice about me. I'm working on embracing my confidence again. By the way I'm 6'0".
  • 6' and loving it! I was super self-conscious in high school, but then I met the guy of my dreams (6'4). I wear stilettos all the time. :)
  • Lauren344
    Lauren344 Posts: 50 Member
    5'10 and a half
    I love it
    Got bullied at secondary school for the first few year for been tall and fat so back then I hated it, then they stopped because I opened my mouth back at them because I was sick of it, then they left me alone after that haha
  • jaxbeck
    jaxbeck Posts: 537 Member
    6'1 & love it, but as stated by some of the other ladies, I did not like it as a teen. I've been at this height since around 14 & I was super awkward. Now, I embrace it & love it!!!
  • Change4mygirls
    Change4mygirls Posts: 28 Member
    5' 10" LOVE it! Hated it when I was a teen but as an adult...I love it. ;)
  • beniky
    beniky Posts: 24 Member
    Hated it in 6th grade...hid it until I was about 21 - then gave up wishing to be short on every birthday candle...threw all my flats away and decided to own it. Nowadays you won't catch me in anything smaller than a 3" heel....
  • afat12
    afat12 Posts: 178 Member
    I'm going to be honest, I'm still learning how to "love" it and some days I hate it and wish I were a more average height.
  • melb_alex
    melb_alex Posts: 1,154 Member
    Generally takes years to accept what's difference but the consensus which you reach adulthood is appreciation ????
  • afat12
    afat12 Posts: 178 Member
    Generally takes years to accept what's difference but the consensus which you reach adulthood is appreciation ????

    I am an adult but I am still working on accepting my height and weight!
  • Healthy_Hunnie
    Healthy_Hunnie Posts: 60 Member
    I really like being tall. I guess if I could alter I would by only an inch or two. I am 6'1.. but most days 6'2-6'3 with shoes. I love my boyfriend, hes about 5'6-5'7. I get told all the time how cute we look. So dont be afraid to date a shorter guy. He has made me the happiest I have ever been and he is the shortest guy I have ever been with. Dont discredit the guys shorter than you.

    Being tall is great, I get compliments all the time from random strangers. I like it. I would rather be able to see everything than feel lost and only see bellys/chests on everyone.

    Be proud of yourself, you cant change so might as well make the best of it. AND DONT SLOUCH! you look soo much worse when you slouch, stand up straight, you will look better, thinner, and more confident

    And keep a smile on your face :)
  • katorihanzo
    katorihanzo Posts: 234 Member

    That made me laugh about you being the tallest person in Honduras. I had the opposite experience recently when I was in Amsterdam where so many people were freakishly tall. At 6' 2" I wasn't even the tallest woman around. It was so interesting to be "average" height there.

    Oh, and a grateful thanks to my mom who would not put up with my efforts to slouch to more closely match the height of my peers. Very tall **and** slouchy was not going to happen, as far as she was concerned. Since my height was not something I could actually change, she encouraged me to embrace it and to be proud of it (she is 5'6"). That really helped me so much.


    That sounds just like my mom :) She's always telling me to stand up straight and keep my shoulders back because I slouch. She's tactful, she says "I usually notice tall people are more inclined to slouch," instead of just saying "you're slouching." haha. She's only about 5'5'' and would love to be taller.

    At 5'10'' since grade 9, I'm definitely used to my height now and love it. Now that I'm old enough that most guys are my height or taller, it's not so awkward. I'm lucky enough to have two best friends who have, since grade 7 or so, told me how beautiful being tall was and how lucky I was and that I should embrace it. Definitely helps when you feel taller than everyone in the worlds to be told it's a good thing!

    I *do* wish I could wear heels without being taller than my boyfriend. He's only about half an inch taller than me (unless he's slouching, which he usually is) and I tower over him with anything taller than a kitten heel.
  • I struggled with my height growing up and as I slouched the whole time I now have a curved back. But now that I am older I am much more accepting of it. Plus as my legs are getting slender I think I'm going to start liking them again very soon! I'm 6ft.
  • PsychoCygnet
    PsychoCygnet Posts: 10 Member
    I'm starting not to hate being tall as much- it was torture during elementary school, a school-wide joke during middle school, and just plain inconvenient in high school. (I live in a mostly Asian neighborhood, so there were a lot of people around who were shorter than me, and I kept nearly running over freshmen because, unless I was staring at the ground, I had trouble seeing what was going on lower than chest level.)

    Now it just means that I look more like an hourglass figure and less like Attack of the Mega-Hipped Woman. And yes, I still have trouble buying jeans, and I occasionally smack headfirst into low-hanging banners at the grocery store, but overall I'm liking it better.
  • loveanddestroyx
    loveanddestroyx Posts: 185 Member
    I've learned to embrace it and love it :heart: