Life

Real Struggles All Short People Face On The Reg

It's not like some celestial being asks a human's permission before creating and casting them out into the world as a short person. Your height kinda just happens. (I'm sure there's a totally reasonable scientific theory like "punishment for a past life error" or "parents" at play here, but we can ignore that for now.) It's hard being a short adult. And there are three universal struggles of being a short person anyone under a certain vertical measure will recognize.

I find myself seething with envy over taller folks on the regular. Maybe this is why I always end up dating super tall guys—like I'm subconsciously trying to right some wrong nature forced upon me. Regardless, I catch myself scowling involuntarily as a person with long legs bounds up stairs taking two at a time. I frown when another human casually (and successfully) reaches for an item on the top shelf without jumping. It doesn't really seem fair, although I guess, as a short person, we have some perks—like being able to weave through crowds like it's NBD (it isn't), but even those are limited. It's tough, guys, and the short person struggle is 100% real, as evidenced in this video outlining three of the major challenges of short person living. Among those, we have:

Having to run while your "normal" friend walks

Our legs are (usually) proportionate to the rest of our bodies. As such, that means shorter folks have shorter legs. When walking with our own kin, it's a lovely stroll. When walking with normals, a healthy sprint is absolutely necessary.

Not seeing a thing in theaters

Gotta cosign here re: for performances of any kind. I pretty much got used to see only short blips of concerts about 10 years ago. It is what it is (although I do get to know fellow audience members' shoulder terrain very well thanks for unintentional studying).

NEVER getting shotgun

In fact, if the car is full enough, us shorties always get stuck in the middle backseat. Some lovingly call it the "b*tch seat." We, unfortunately, just call it "ours."

See the full list in action below. If you're short, you'll get this. If you're not, you'll learn.

Some other struggles not covered in the video but not any less real include:

Losing friends in crowds

Just as it's impossible to see screens or bands sometimes it's also impossible to see friends when there's a crowd or like...aisles. Losing friends as a short person is pretty easy, unfortunately.

Having no idea what's on top of your fridge

For real, I never know what's going on up there until it's move-out day. Then—and only then—do I learn the true horrors that have been living up there for who knows how long? And even worse: Probably everyone else who has been over has also seen the tragedy.

Limited storage options

Like the top of the fridge, taller shelves aren't really a viable option for storage. Unless you never need said item. In which case, why do you have that, even? As a result, many short people hoard less...because they have nowhere to store this sh*t. (#minimalism #namaste #etc.)

Images: YouTube(4); Giphy(3)