Do you ever wonder what it is like to be a short guy? Well, do not fret, because this fellow 5'2 guy will tell you how it feels.

Middle School

Let's start with middle school. Each and every day, you were always in front of the line because it was organized by size order. You thought you were the leader, but in fact, you were just the shortest. Other times, your classmates and friends joked around you with your height. You sometimes thought puberty was going by slowly while everyone was growing rapidly.

When it came to sports, you needed to work a bit harder to be on par with many guys. In basketball, you were constantly being smothered because they took advantage of your short stature. You felt you couldn't hold the ball much because you were the highest chance of losing it or being blocked. You always wanted to learn how to dunk, but with your height, it was impossible. When it came to anything that involved running, you had to work your legs a bit more. While most people relied on their long legs for long strides, you had to peddle your way twice as much to keep up. At the end, you became massively tired and out of breath.

High School

High school came around, and during that time, you were constantly overwhelmed by how tall everyone was. Whenever you spoke to your classmates or some teachers, your neck would hurt afterwards for looking up. Whenever sports came around, it was the same as middle school. However, when it came to romance, you were always hesitant and sad. You know most people prefer taller people, so you end up not confessing or pursuing. Eventually, when you did muster the courage to confess, you heard the same words as a response, "Sorry, I prefer taller guys," or "If only you were taller." You continued to stay strong because you cannot change their preference until they told you later on, "You would make such a perfect boyfriend for someone." As a result, you became secretly bitter to many of your friends because your feelings were hurt, but you could not do anything about it.

With that, you fell into a semi-spiral and became a hopeless romantic. You knew absolutely that you couldn't change your height overnight or quickly. You kept on drinking milk but to no avail. Adding insult to injury, you were constantly nicknamed something that involved being short. Because you had no pride, you look passed it. Because of your short stature, you had no luck in romance mostly because of your consciousness to your height, and your then-crushes prefer taller people.

First Semester of College

Then came the first semester of college. You thought everything will become much better in a new school; however, your thoughts betrayed you. You were still overwhelmed by tall people, but not so much compared to high school because your close friends are tall. Many classmates were noticeably judgmental of your height and looked down on you. However, you felt confident, and you did not let it bother you.

You decided to join a flag football team. Little did you know, it was the second worst idea you ever came up with. You found yourself playing with guys who are over six feet with the body structure of an actual NFL football player. You were terribly intimidated, but you felt you needed to prove something, and so you stayed. That was the first worst idea. You found yourself being overworked and over matched to the point that they could actually pick you up and move you around like a rag doll. You ended up playing through many bruises and small injuries. Because of your short height, you kept on messing up plays because you cannot catch a ball flying to you. Eventually, you stopped going.

Current College

You ended up transferring to a different college, but you had a different mindset than previously. You wanted to keep a low profile and blend in with the scene. Nonetheless, you were surprised by how kind and welcoming your classmates were. You felt that they do not mind your height at all. It was almost as if they accepted you no matter what.

With that, you felt this unwanted, yet warm feeling of confidence and relief. You then allowed it to sink in. After a while, you stopped thinking about your height, and you became a stronger person mentally.

Underestimating

In the real world, people are constantly judging one another no matter what.

For you, it was tremendously noticeable. With you being short and looking younger than you are, you are often underestimated by many older folks. They viewed you as a high schooler or even younger. One man came up to you and tried to recruit you to join his high school, but you told him you were in college. Others treated you with less respect than the person next to you who was a year younger, but taller. You were, most of the time, being carded for the movies or video game store when you bought something for mature audience only.

Because of being a short guy, people saw your skills and value lower than what it is. They thought of you as an amateur, but when you showed your capabilities, they were surprised and astonished. They asked you how old you were, and you told them you were 20. They reacted with shock claiming they thought you were 16 or something similar because of my height.

You began to realize that this could play in your favor if situations happen like this in the future. You saw this type of reaction as a motivation for you in the real world. You started to like the feeling of being underestimated by people because you felt as though you could surprise them. You kept that mindset in the back of your head just in case the moment came.

Ultimately, it did happen, and you just loved that feeling of being underestimated and surprising them in the end. It made you refine your skills and improved even further than ever to the point that your standards are now higher than before, and that you no longer feel underestimated.

Being a short guy may be a curse to you, but when you found other ways to turn it into an opportunity, it can become more of an advantage.