musings of a giant

Last night I skyped with Becky, one of my oldest and best friends. She is currently studying abroad in Europe. We have gone to school together since kindergarten and because she loves me so much she followed me to 'SC. Actually, no. She "begged" me to go to USC. I was set on the east coast and the only school I was considering on the west coast was USC. I eventually narrowed down my choices to Tufts and USC. Considering both programs, I got over my stubbornness and picked 'SC because it had everything I wanted and needed. Tufts was only a finalist because of its location.

Despite being best friends, Becky and I are always in competition. As lame kids, we would compare our grades in math, our drawing skills in art, and even the size of our calf muscles. Yes, I know - absolutely bizarre. I still claim I won the calf competitions. However, I did have an advantage because of my height. Becky still defends her calf victory based on the fact that she was active in karate, tennis, and a few other things and I was just a defensive player in soccer. My job in soccer was to intimidate other young children with my height and nothing more.

I was a giant in elementary school. My friend Whitney was also tall, but now, she is just average (only in height). Her mother loves to tell the story about how happy she was to find out Whitney was not the tallest girl in elementary school. Below is part of a newspaper clipping that covered the 5th grade Eco Hunt that Becky and I participated in. The Eco Hunt was basically a daylong scavenger hunt in the Arboretum. They gave us compasses and dumped us in the pseudo-forest. I think we came in third. I am a nerd and would probably post this photo because of the subject, but I just wanted to showcase my 5th grade height. Unfortunately, this is the best elementary photo I have right now in my apartment.



I am still tall, but no longer beastly in comparison to other people my age. I don't know how I sprouted so fast! My family is not particularly tall, but as a child, I did cry when we were out of milk. No matter the cause, I think my height, though responsible for many of my insecurities, helped me develop my confidence, independence, and emotional strength. (Who knew blogs could be so deep?!)

Today I love my height, well, most of the time. It can be a downer since I am taller than the average guy height, but then taller women are more successful... Some of my closest girl friends joke that they are my children because of the height disparity among us. Becky is always amused when I stand on my knees... because it makes her feel taller? I don't know. Either way it's funny. In NY this past week, my teacher so kindly named me monster woman when I emerged wearing heels.