11 unexpected benefits of being short in the world of the tall

If you live in a country like the Philippines where short is the majority, you wouldn’t care or even remember if you were short. But go to a country where everybody and their dog is tall, and suddenly you become acutely aware that you are a pygmy. At least that’s what it was like when I left the Philippines and moved to Belgium.

For Filipinos, the average male height is five feet and three inches while the average female height is four feet and eleven inches. You make it even just a half inch above five feet, and you might weep for joy and thank God for giving you great genes.

In Belgium and other parts of Europe, the average height is five feet and ten inches for men, and five feet and four to six inches for women. Average is an understatement here since many of them are practically walking skyscrapers. In the Netherlands known as the land of the tallest people on earth, you’ll feel like a native of Lilliput. I stand at five feet (although I usually claim to be 5’1” shoes and all, like that makes a lot of difference), so you can imagine how I easily turn into a hobbit in this part of the world.

You don’t have to be surrounded by tall people to be reminded that you are vertically challenged. Sometimes you just have to look at the way certain structures and objects are designed. Places are often built according to the features of the people who inhabit them. For example, many grocery stores in Brussels have shelves that are way higher than a regular store shelf in Manila. Soaring closets may be unthinkable in the Philippines but commonplace in Belgium. Even some benches and chairs can tell you that they were made for people with long legs. So you get it, alright already.

But that’s where the fun starts. It turns out, living in the land of the tall can bring joyful benefits to shorties.

A restroom mirror in Wuppertal, Germany. That black blob is my forehead. See what I mean. Rosetti Rivera

1. You develop strong toes, legs, and arms.

In the talldom, many fixtures are placed at high levels because of course, tall people can reach them. Short people can’t. Not without standing on their toes and raising their arms to kingdom come. And therein lie the benefits.

You’ll be surprised at how fit and muscular your toes can get when you constantly have to stand on them to survive. Give it a year and your toes may be evolved enough to use for house chores.

Sometimes, standing on your toes won’t be enough. You have to jump as high as you can which is good for your legs. Toe support or jumping is normally accompanied by stretching one or both arms upwards to get hold of a lofty target. So aside from your toes and legs, your arms also get some unintended aerobic action. Now who needs to go to the gym.

2. You acquire a good sense of balance.

The first few times you stand on your toes may feel a bit wobbly. But once you finally make peace with the fact that toe work will have to be a way of life, you begin to learn the techniques of good balance. You hit just the right distance between your feet to achieve a steady toe stand. You also master the delicate art of resting your body weight on your toes. If you’re a perfectionist or OC, you might even develop a ballerina style pointe technique. Why not?

3. You become creative and resourceful.

Out of desperation to reach for things, you suddenly discover that almost anything can be turned into a step stool. A chair is no longer just something to sit on but something for you to stand on. This outside the box thinking extends to other things in your house. Garbage cans, thick boxes, upturned pots and pails, tables, chests, ledges, cabinets, refrigerators. You see them in a way you’ve never seen them before —as potential ladders.

4. You become a genius at real-life Tetris.

Exploring your ingenuity in step stool improvisation is fun, but having to climb on things all the time is not. So instead of trying for those high shelves and cabinets, you start exploring how you can fit all your stuff into low storage spaces.

You may be amazed at how artistic you can be at space maximization when you badly want to avoid the hassle of mounting a step stool. It’s like a game of Tetris and the challenge is how to fit everything in until every inch of space is occupied. Who knows, maybe the next time you play Tetris, you’ll be an instant champion.

5. You’re always in the front row during picture-takings.

There is no other way and everybody knows why.

6. You develop good posture naturally.

Back straight, chin up. This happens when your view is often blocked by the backs of tall people.

To see what’s ahead, you have to extend your back and neck, and lift your head as high as humanly possible. Now if you do this on a regular basis, the bones in your back, neck, and chin just sort of click into place and get frozen into position. Before you know it, you’ve mastered the elements of good posture and you start walking around looking all confident. Thanks to a survival mechanism.

7. You won’t run out of human shade in the summer.

When the summer sun gets too strong, you don’t have to worry about carrying an umbrella. In a place where there is never a shortage of tall people, you can just stand behind one of them to protect yourself from the sun. Of course you have to be very subtle about it so you won’t look like a creep. More importantly, you don’t want to get busted for using people as improvized umbrellas. Let’s just hope my towering Belgian of a husband never reads this article.

8. You can shop for clothes in the children’s section.

European size clothes are generally designed for people with longer bodies. So if you’re a short woman, a European size tunic will look like a dress on you. And a European size dress may be your equivalent of a gown, with a trail. For short men, good luck finding pants with just the right length.

So the kiddy section may at times be best suited to your needs. At least, you get to be a size or two smaller by European standards of measurement. It’s like instant loss weight without the physical torture.

9. You get to swing your legs while sitting on a bench.

Isn’t it fun to sit on a bench and swing your legs like you’re four years old all over again? Because you have short legs, you get a chance to relive that childhood feeling each time you sit on a bench or chair that is obviously meant for long-legged people. If you get tired of leg-swinging, you just have to sit at the very edge of the bench to rest your feet on the ground. See, you have a choice that tall people don’t have. How wonderful.

10. You can avoid awkward eye contact with strangers.

You know that awkward feeling you get when you accidentally lock eyes with a stranger while walking down the street? You won’t have to endure that kind of unease when most people you encounter are vertically extensive. The most you can have eye contact with are shoulders and necks.

11. You’re less prone to head and back accidents.

Because doorways and entrances are high, you can have all the headspace you’ve ever dreamed of. You can hop and headbang all you want without getting smacked. You also won’t hurt your back having to stoop to enter a room. Some doors here may even fit twice your length.

Most of all, you get to own the line, “I’m not short, I’m fun-sized.” And you can say it with conviction. How could it not be fun when you’re compelled to be clever and imaginative in order to adapt to your environment. Those survival strategies are contributing to your evolution as a human being. Even your sense of humor gets an upgrade as you learn to look at the hilarious side of things. After all, what’s not to giggle about when you can so easily see up people’s noses.