HELP! I’M TOO SHORT!!

Dear Nikki,
How do I fix my SUPER SHORTNESS?! I have a friend that’s younger than me and she’s WAY taller than I am! Plus, everybody thinks I’m small, including this guy I really like at school and it’s SOOOO EMBARASSING!!!!

I WISH I WAS TALL!! PLEASE HELP!!!!
Sincerely,
So Sick Of Being Super Short

Hi So Sick Of Being Super Short,

Here’s the thing: I’m an advice columnist, not a miracle worker. 😀

I’m afraid there’s not much I (or anyone!) can do about how tall you are. It’s not like having bad breath, being a terrible dancer or any number of things that you can at least try to change. Nope, your height is your height.

I mean, sure, you could start wearing ultra high heels all the time, but that would probably get old (especially during gym). Or…you could learn to walk on stilts? But that would probably just make you look weird instead of fixing your shortness problem.

Now, you might still grow! Like, I don’t know how old you are, and some people continue to grow into their late teens. So maybe your height is something that will change! But the thing is, you can’t really do anything to make that change happen any faster. (Besides eat your veggies and get enough sleep, I guess?)

So, if we can agree on the fact that your height is your height, let’s talk about that!

First of all, are the people you’re talking about really tall? If so, have you ever wondered how they might feel about that? Maybe they’re writing to advice columns about worrying that they’re too tall! So, remember that it’s not about how short or tall you are…it’s about how you look at it.

Second of all, it sounds like you’re worried about what other people think of your height more than you are with being short. From your comments, I can’t tell if anyone’s making fun of you, or if they’re just observing that you’re not exactly WNBA material. If they’re obviously mocking you, that’s NOT COOL, and you shouldn’t listen to anyone who would make fun of you like that, even if it’s your crush.

But, they also might not mean the comments as something negative. It might be like if you asked them, “OMG, do I have brown hair?!” And they looked at your hair and said, “Yes, you DO have brown hair! It’s definitely brown!”  It’s not an insult. It’s just your hair color. Or in this case, your height.

Because what’s wrong with being short? I mean, sure, occasionally you might not be able to reach something on a high shelf. (Hey, just get a step stool!) And maybe you aren’t picked first for basketball. But other than that…who cares?

Being short didn’t stop any of these fantastic ladies: