Tall Tales III: Apparently It's a Fixation

My sister informed me that I never post anything about being tall on my blog...

Well that's because being tall is everyday life!  I don't tell you about how I brushed my teeth this morning either!

Don't worry, I'll give her what she wants.  I'll be sure to post a million tall things in the future.  You wait and see, but for now we're gonna stick with a story:

This weekend, I went with some friends up to Rigby/Rexburg area in Idaho.  It was a great trip, and I rather enjoyed it.  While visiting one night, a friend of mine ...>ahem< Eric Richard >ahem<... told me that I had a fixation with height.

It's true.  I can't stop talking about it.  I'm pretty sure I talk about height every day.

But I swear it's not my fault!

I went from kindergarten to twelfth grade with the same 85 kids, and every day someone would say something about my height.  I mean, for heaven's sake!  We've known each other for 13 years, and you still don't think I know I'm tall?!

And even still, my height is my driving motivation for why and how I do things from moment-to-moment.

Like... I can't wear heels to church today because I'm singing harmony with my sisters. (They're are much shorter than I.)  

Or... Ouch! I totally did not see that cupboard door coming. 

Sometimes it's a... Yes, I can get that box of cereal down for you.

Or an... I'm going to sit by myself at DanceSport so I can drape my legs over the chair in front of me.
Sometimes I think Okay, I'll have to slouch a little.  I can't hear them.

Or sometimes, while walking around campus or scanning the crowd leaving an event venue, I look around, sigh and think to myself:
Yup. Yet again. No one taller than me for as far as I can see...

Do you kinda see how I can't stop thinking about it?

So!  To feed my fixation, I'm going to give you people a few facts about tall people. (And yes, I look these up from time to time to see how the data has changed.)

For those wondering, I'm 6'2"

• 0.7% of U.S. women are 5' 10" or taller  (Average is 5' 3.7")
• 3.0% of U.S. men are 6' 2" or taller  (Average is 5' 9.1")
• Optimum height for a female fashion model = 5' 9.5"
• "Average height is increasingly used as a measure of the health and wellness (standard of living and quality of life) of populations."*
• Think about this one in the context that Americans are shrinking
• The Netherlands have the tallest national averages with men averaging out at 6' and women at 5' 6.5"
• Tall people have a higher risk of cancer (more cells that could potentially mutate) while shorter people have a higher risk of heart disease
• Tall people earn more money-- about $789 more per year in the U.S.

And that's all I'm gonna give you for now.  Oh, and this.  Because it's hilarious.

And it's happened to me.  Twice.

Courtesy of: http://tall-girl-problems.tumblr.com/tagged/tall+girl+problems

P.S. ^^That's a pretty funny blog.  Especially when most of them have happened to you...

*Wikipedia Article

Another interesting article about height...