We rise above it.

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I am an almost 27 year old woman. A tall woman. Ever since I can remember, I was always the girl who stood at the back in all the class pictures, right in the centre, because I was always taller than everyone else. I was the girl who intimidated the other girls and boys, not because I was mean or a bully, but because I was always so tall. My first day of school, my parents took pictures of me outside in the garden. I came across one of those pictures and I was surprised to see the size of my calves. They were pretty, but they were also big. Exceptionally big for a 7 year old Grade 1 girl. The picture made me smile. My big calves made me smile.

All through primary school I was the tall girl. In high school, to my delight, the boys started growing. This made me happy. Finally, there were boys who were my size. Finally there were boys who could look me in the eyes and not look up to me, literally. Finally, I did not feel like the tall one who everyone found intimidating. I felt like a girl who the boys could also look at. I felt like a girl.

I was an early bloomer. I matured fast. There were other girls who were like me, so I had people to talk to, but sometimes I still had trouble with the fact that I matured so quickly. I eventually got used to it, I managed to embrace it, but it was not an easy journey. It was one worth traveling though.

I never considered myself fat. Looking at old pictures, I was anything but fat. I was tall yes. And I had really ‘big’ bones, but I was never fat. So the other day, to my surprise, someone told me I look huge in an outfit I was wearing. I think what made this insult worse, was the fact that it came from the opposite sex. I had never had a boy tell me anything like that before. In my adulthood, I had never had a man tell me this before. So obviously, I did not know how to react to this. Well, it is safe to say that my reaction was not pretty. At all.

You see, my Mom taught me from a young age that if you do not have anything nice to say to someone, then it is best you keep your mouth shut. And we all know how ladies feel about their weight. It is a sensitive topic for all of us. Skinny or fat. We do not like being insulted about our weight. So, needless to say, I felt like a fat blob for a few days after that comment was made. I felt insecure. I also felt ‘unpretty’. Because you see, you are never too old or too young to feel crappy when someone insults you.

Then, this morning, I woke up and after I took a bath and got dressed, I looked in the mirror, and I looked good. I really looked good. I rocked the black pants I was wearing. I looked amazing in my green blazer and matching green heels. I looked good.  And then, I was angry with myself, for allowing the opinion of one person to affect me the way it did. I was angry because I always tell people not to pay attention to the negative things that others say, but now I was doing exactly what I was telling others not to do.

I looked in the mirror and I stood tall. I was still the tall girl in the back of the class pictures. Only, this time I realized why I was standing tall. I stood tall because I stood out. God did not want me to shy away from the spotlight, He put me in it. And I was happy to be in it. They say the tallest trees get the most wind. So I will accept whatever criticism I receive, because in the end, it only makes me grow a few more inches. And I am more than happy to be the woman that many men or boys look up to, literally. I will shy away from my height no more.

You may not be the tallest, physically, but in your own way, you stand tall. Embrace that. Even when the strong winds blow, do not shrink, continue growing taller. Those who hate, will only hate more. They will not grow. But in the end, you will. You will stand taller and you will grow bigger. When negativity comes your way, brush it off. We have no time to entertain it.

We are too busy rising. We are the tall ones.

We rise above it.

Take Care

Miss Stone

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