"Height is a wonderful thing!"

I'm five feet, eight inches tall. I'm normally self-conscious about my height. In fact, there are so many pictures where I hunch over because all the people I'm with are at least six inches shorter than me. And I'm usually wearing heels because I'm attracted to them. I love shoes!! But why be so self-conscious?? It's really a blessing to be tall. Let me explain the title of my blog.

Fifth grade brought on the basketball years. This is when I decided that I couldn't do basketball and dance because of the time commitment. I went with basketball, even though I knew I didn’t know the first thing about playing. And I had been dancing for ten years. What a change! My coach threw me on the court and I basically ran around like a chicken without a head. I looked completely ridiculous. I guess it paid off though because I eventually became captain of the junior varsity team in high school and everyone banked on Amanda leading the team to victory.

My mom still tells the story of one of my first games. She was sitting there watching (as I ran like a clueless little fifth grader around the CYO gym) and there was a parent from the opposing team sitting behind her. The woman kept referring to her tall drink of water for a daughter. "Height is a wonderful thing," she would utter in her screechingly high-pitched voice. My mother wanted to smack her. And here I come, running down the court. I blocked this tall girl's shot. And she did in fact tower over me. My mom was so proud. That silenced the woman pretty quickly. But now, I think back to that time and that woman's statement.

There's no need to be self-conscious. How many models are really tall, with really long legs? That's apparently attractive. (Not saying I'm model material). But being tall is what makes me, ME! That's just one of my characteristics. And while I'll never be able to date a guy who's shorter than me, I have begun to accept my height. It's funny actually because everyone knows to call me when they can't reach something in a high cabinet. In fact, my friends will comment on how tall I am and then say how they hate being so short. The grass is always greener...

Height certainly IS a wonderful thing!