After 22 years, I have come to a singular defining realization: I am taller than most of the people I stand beside. This accompanies my observation that height is viewed as an amazing advantage by the vertically challenged, which has always intrigued me.

I, along with many other people who share my vertical acuity. This led to an exploration of this conundrum in order to find an answer to one question: why do people put height on such a pedestal? Luckily I was able to see a lot more than those shorter than me. I know that feels like a low blow, but that’s where most people are anyway so I think it evens out.

Before I indulge myself in a healthy dose of philosophical assumption revolving around being over six-foot “if that matters,” I would like to dispel some of the glamor that comes with being built like Slenderman. This is also not going to be articulated like Netflix’s “Tall Girl” where I frame being 6’2” as some horrific burden, I just wanted to complain about some trivial inconveniences that come with the territory.
Clothes that fit are impossible to find: When you walk into a clothing store, I doubt you have ever explored the options for a taller individual. If you did, you would find that the tall and slender is not something that clothing brands often consider. Every shirt is either a crop top or a tent and every pair of pants is a cruel joke only meant to imitate the trials and punishments of Sisyphus. I’m being a bit overdramatic, but my points are still valid.
We have back problems: Whenever I’m in a conversation with one of my shorter friends, I find myself hunching over to match their height to hear them clearly. Afterwards, I’m walking around with my back hunched and head forward like a sinister mastermind or a pangolin. My back at the end of a long day sounds like a Rice Krispies treat thrown into a bowl of seltzer.

There are surely other things that I could include on this list, but I would like to move on to other ventures for the sake of finishing this article.

Why do people want to be tall? Perhaps it’s because they want to be better at hockey (someone legitimately told me they’d play hockey if they were tall). Perhaps it’s to reach the top shelf without a ladder. No matter what the root of it is, many people romanticize height to a degree that can ironically feel belittling.

All jokes aside, the glamorization of height is something that has always confused me. Sure, it’s nice to have the options that being tall bestows, but ultimately height has nothing to do with someone’s adequacy.