I am proud of myself. I don't regret any of the choices I've made or actions I've committed, for they have contributed to the person I am today. Today, I stand in the mirror and smile at what I see. I just wish others could see themselves the same way.
I'm shorter than the average guy, standing a towering 5 foot 3 inches above the crowd. As a guy, that sets me apart and makes me stand out, as it's the tall men who are looked favorably upon by society, who are deemed more attractive. I'm the result of an interracial relationship; I'm black and I am white, I am German and I am Jewish, I am Native American and I am French Creole. As we've seen by the events unfolding in Jena, LA, race relations are still cold in this country, so again, I stand out from the crowd because of my heritage. I am also bisexual, which makes me the center of hatred in both straight and gay camps. I am seen as confused or in denial (neither of which I am), so yet again, I stand out from the crowd. My ethnic identity, my sexual identity, my gender identity, all our challenged by those around me. Everything with which I identify with makes me different and does not allow me to fit in with the crowd. Unlike most, however, I am proud of this fact, as well as myself, for I AM different. I see things in a way that most do not, and I never wish upon myself the pressures of fitting in; I'd much rather be different than everybody else.
But, this is yet another thing that sets me apart from my peers. This is what bothers me most about our society: America idealizes itself with the concept of personal freedom, the freedom to do what you want to do, be who you want to be, live how you want to live. Yet, the reality is that anybody who does not exist within the standards of normality that society sets up end up being ostracized and rejected because of thier differences. Most people like me hate me because of our one difference: whereas they stand out and hate it, they just want to fit in, I don't, I enjoy being different and I'm comfortable in my own skin. I don't hate them back, I pity them, because I feel their pain. I, too, once hated myself for not being "normal", but I learned to get over that self-hatred and move on. I've learned to laugh at things that once caused me great pain, and I have grown up. They, on the other hand, still feel the pressure from society to fit in, and still hate themselves, wishing they could just be themselves but are too afraid to be.
I guess my point, if I even have one, is that we need to stop focusing our energy on the problems we feel others have. We should instead focus on making ourselves better people; you can tease and taunt and fuss and fight all you want, but you'll never change another person. You can, however, make a conscious decision to root out your own evil, and make yourself a better person. There's a difference in making a suggestion to somebody on their life, and judging them, between being helpful and being hurtful. Maybe one day, we will be truly free in living our life the way we want to. To achieve that, however, we'll have to work on ourselves and hope others are doing the same.
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I love this post! I don't think there's anything I can add to improve it. Not enough people realize how great it is to truly be yourself.
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
EMBRACE WHO YOU ARE. ( i know that that saying is really cliche, but that doesn't make it any less true.
Two words. DON"T CONFORM.
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
Wow, you have a got a LOT of self esteem if you can be proud of your 5'3 height. Thats a good thing. Many guys are instead intimidated by their height and won't approach a girl who may be slightly taller than them. Many guys develop what is commonly known as "short man syndrome" because they are so short and small that they feel the need to boss everyone around to make themselves feel important. Anyway, good job on keeping the positive outlook. Did you know that Napolean was short and so was hitler and stalin? Not to say that you will be an evil dictator, but those people emerged to be leaders. SO don't let your height get in the way of anything.
It's great that you can be different and proud of it. I agree with you that most people don't embrace their differences, or at least, not enough. I know I'm guilty of, in a way, 'hiding' what makes me different (or at least personality-wise. Physically that's much harder to do) and trying to blend in with the crowd by subduing who I am. I like to think I'm open-minded about other people's differences, though, and I think that other people should be, too. We should embrace our differences, not strive to be clones.
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
Its true. We tend to hide things/traits that are good things as well as the bad things. I know that when I am around people much shorter than me, I tend to bend my knees, slouch, not stand straight, take my heels off whatever to not stick out as a "weird" pair. So whether you are tall or short, there will always be things that you will try and conform to. Word of advice: don't. Its funny how we conform because society laughs if a girl is 6 feet tall and a guy is 4 feet tall. We as humans want to pair everyone up in their own little matching categories. Humans are interesting beings. Why are we this way? I am asking a lot of question this way.
it must be harder for you as a guy but in general i see tall beatiful women or models and the short people get very little representation
some of my fave people are not that tall :)
anyways, i am impressed and inspired to be even more true to my identity
and proud of it (i was and am) but it's always better to see that you are not alone
great!
"Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right."
http://www.progressiveu.org/231615-this-is-a-muslim-girls-plight
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
Yeah, its easier for a short girl but not a short guy. But its not true that all the famous and "cool" people out there are tall. Resse witherspoon isn't. Neither is Nicole Richie. In fact, there are lots of short guys in hoolywood too. Like Matt Damon. Thats the problem with the media. They misrepresent the stars and when we see them in the pictures, they seem to be all tall. Thats what i thought about many of them. Until I saw a rare picture of Matt Damon with George Clooney and Brad Pitt side by side. clearly, he is MUCH shorter. So there are lots of short people out there. Sometimes, the media presents them as tall, and selectively publishes pictures. Thats why in our society we idolize tall people. The media appears to make all the celebs and models look tall. There are certain techniques and ways to take pictures, you know. Does anyone get what I am saying? Well, at least I do.
even thinking of them but thanks for listing down those people, they must be the ones you thought of. in any case, compared to people who are tall, the short ones are very very FEW/
"Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right."
http://www.progressiveu.org/231615-this-is-a-muslim-girls-plight
" "love em all,trust a few,and fear none"....thats wassup.one love. peace." mos def
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
The funny thing is that photographers make everyone look tall, its a technique...until thoseactors stand right next to someone much much taller.
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^
Thanks, you guys :-)
Yeah, I wasn't always this proud, but after years of getting taunted and teased about it, I just taught myself to get over it and be proud. BTW I did know that Napoleon was very short. In fact, when a guy tries to hide his height by becoming very "dictatorish" (not a word, I know), it's called having a Napoleon Complex. I don't have a complex such as this one, but I do find myself bossing people around every once in a while O:-) Don't get me wrong, though, there are times when I still falter a bit and "hide" the fact that I'm bi and that I have a boyfriend (this must not be one of those times, obviously), which I feel bad for later on, but I'm only human. I'm still working on being "open" about my sexuality; I can't hide my heritage or my height, but I can hide that, so sometimes I feel the urge to do so. I'll get there eventually, though :-)
Well, you're doing a great job. Keep it up and don't give up!
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
I don't think that being short is so bad. From what I have seen in life, its the short really social guys that are popular and get the girls-because unlike tall guys who usually mumble instead of talk(it seems to be a tall guy trait), they are social. I wonder why it is that way?
Thanks for the support, you guys. Really appreciate the positive feedback. I may be proud, but every once in a while, I get that drop in esteem.
But, I wanted to address one of the comments alenka made. It's interesting that the media was brought up, how actors and actresses look really tall but end up being pretty short. Some of them, like Danny DeVito, that's their joke...they're short, fat guys, but they have a really big mouth. Danny was like this, and Joe Pesci is another one, famous for his little height but his rabid, acid tongue. I'm going into the film industry, as a director, so my height used to really bother me. I used to think I wouldn't get widely accepted because I was shorter than the average guy. That was before my mom pointed out to me that they use camera tricks to make guys look taller than they really are, and a lot of male celebrities are just as tall, or a little bit taller, than me! I was really surprised when I found that out, and it made me happy. Hehe, it probably also helped with me getting used to it.
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
Your mom was right/
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^