6 Assumptions People Make When You Are Short

When you’re a short girl, people often make assumptions about you, because of your height – or lack of. However, being short, although sometimes a struggle, does not stop us little-legged humans going about our daily lives the same way average-height people do. Anything long-legged individuals can do, we can do better…or the same.

You’re younger than you actually are

Being small comes with a number of connotations, and unluckily for short girls, one of them is that you are a child. Although you can occasionally blag a child’s ticket at the cinema, you often wonder, as you reach for your full driving license in the off-license, will there ever come a day when you won’t be ID’d? Probably not. Not even when you’re 50. Oh well, at least you’ll always look young (#yummymummy).

You can’t reach anything

True: one of the daily struggles of a short girl is reaching things – especially from the top shelf at the supermarket, or the top cupboard in the kitchen. Also true: where there’s a will there’s a way. When you’re a short girl who wants to reach something on the top shelf, you become the most determined in the whole world. Be it a run-and-jump, a step-ladder, or a dashing tall gentleman, you will find a way to reach it.

You’re not tall enough to get on rollercoasters

If you’re 5 foot or below, people will naturally assume that you are not tall enough to get on the big rides at the theme park. But you’ve done your research, and you’re not afraid to let these average-height people know; to get on the ‘grown-up’ rides you have to be 1.5 metres, which is 4.92126 feet. So yes, your 4 foot 11 stature will be joining your mates on their road trip to Alton Towers, and there’s nothing they can do about it.

You didn’t eat enough vegetables growing up

Even though research shows certain vegetables can aid growth and build strong bones, the fact that you are short does not mean you didn’t eat your vegetables as a child. If your mother is 5 foot 2 and your father is 5 foot 5, it’s unlikely – even with large amounts of vitamins and nutrients – that you will grow much beyond their height. Genetics play a large part in your ultimate height – maybe your parent’s parents didn’t eat their vegetables?

You need extension pedals in the car

Nobody is born with the ability to drive a car. Learning to drive is something that makes us all equal, it’s something we all have to do in order to own a car and get from A to B independently. However, when you are short, people seem to find the idea of you learning to drive hilarious. Queue endless jokes about how you’ll need to put blocks on the pedals, sit on three cushions to see over the dashboard and have your seat so far forward your stomach will touch the steering wheel. So. Funny. Please. Stop.

Your little legs need to work harder

Many people seem to believe that petite individuals get tired quickly when doing physical exercise, because their little legs have to work harder than their taller counterparts do. Yes, one stride for a long-legged person is three for a little-legged one, but this doesn’t mean shorties can’t be strong and fit too. In fact, there’s plenty of petite girls that are slaying their fitness routines, and chances are they are stronger than the average Joe. Never underestimate a short girl!