I’m 17 years old now, and I’ve spent most of my life being short. I mean I wasn’t that short in elementary, but as time passed my friends grew taller than me. Some of them grew substantially. It was extremely frustrating. It wasn’t a big help with girls either. As a pubescent teen, my hormones got the best of me. I wanted a girlfriend like most people.I used to think I’d be a munchkin trying to get Dorothy’s attention. I would receive attention, but it wasn’t the right kind of attention. People called me, “cute and adorable.” they even told me, “I just wanna put you in my pocket.” I felt like a puppy. I felt like that’s how people knew me. I wanted that to change.
Like every teenager, I did have my heartbroken a few times. I’ve had that feeling where your heart sinks into your stomach. The feeling where your whole mood just crashes and you feel like doing nothing. That feeling you get when your body just stops doing anything while you lie down and just think about why you’re not loved. I always assumed it was because of my height. Those girls that I thought I “loved,” were all taller than me, so I just assumed my height was the reason for everything that went wrong.
Now that I reflect on those memories, I appreciate all the hardships I went through. It made me learn to stop caring about unimportant situations like relationships. Most of all, I learned to accept myself. I didn’t worry about my height any more, and I was much better off thinking that way. I like to think of being short like being a movie or a book. We’ve all seen those movies or read those books where it starts off great, but eventually it just drags on and we want nothing to do it. It’s like watching Gone With the Wind or reading War and Peace. They’re incredibly long and boring (to most teenagers of course.) As of right now, life is great now that I’ve accepted this height. I get to feel more humble. I get to look up to people literally and figuratively, and I learned how to appreciate things better. Don’t get me wrong being short does have its downsides (pun intended), but doesn’t everything?
20 comments:
I enjoy the honesty of the piece, and how you show the strength to accept the things that you can't change. It demonstrates your growth as a human being and your experiences can relate to those of many others. The use of the word "brevity" to refer to your struggles was well executed. You're incredibly brave for sharing your story with us. Props.
I like how you describe the challenges in the story and it sounds pretty tuff. There is a part in life that you have to overcome that situation and live on with life. Excellent story.
Per.6
Isaac Garcia
I'm extremely impressed with your piece. It's very honest, as you acknowledged the negative feelings you had towards being small, and how you eventually accepted yourself. The theme in your story is very deep, and something all of us can learn from. Good job Mykhail!
Amazing job Mykhail! I laughed at the beginning because you know I'm 4'11". I've pretty much spent my whole life being short, at least I'm taller than Jeremie. I completely understand where you're coming from when I get compliments of being "cute and adorable" and I have wished for people to look at me differently regardless of my height. Anyways, I enjoyed reading about the life of a teenager and what it's like to experience love. You did a great job in tying in everything. This is a beautiful reflection and thank you for reminding me that everything happens for a reason and that I should continue to appreciate all the struggles a person can go through.
We ALL have things that make us insecure but I'm so happy you were able to accept it! A lot of people let their insecurities run their lives.
Christian Black
2/5/15
Period 1
I loved this piece Mykhail. You picked something simple to right about yet you put so much description into it that you allowed the reader to feel the same things you felt in the past. Also the amount of satire and puns made the read really enjoyable too. Nice work.
Great job Khail! I loved your piece, I love how you accepted your insecurity. I think that's hard to do for most people. You were very honest and you were't afraid to show how you felt. We all have insecurities and it's difficult to cope with them. Honestly, I don't think you're short. I don't think anyone is short. Everyone is tall, some people are just taller than others. I always put it that way when I feel short. Lol.
Great job!
Grace Panjaitan
period 4
I totally understand where you are coming from as a fellow vertically challenged person friend. I absolutely loved the message that the piece reflected, how one should accept themselves and just try to make the best of what we have. I think that’s a great way to go on about life and appreciate this medium you used to express this motto. Overall, awesome!
Isabelle Huynh
Per.1
Khail, I respect your honesty and courage in this piece. It is hard for most people to admit their insecurities let alone accept them. I love the underlying message that everyone has flaws and we should just except ourselves for who we are. I love your positive outlook and I really enjoyed reading your experience. Great job!
I've always considered myself short and it's nice to get another short male's perspective on being gravitationally challenged. It's inspiring to know that you accepted it and life is good for you right now. Keep on keeping on.
Jacob Valdez
Period 4
Hey my fellow short man Khail!
I relate to your piece of course because, I too, have been told that people want to put me in their pockets because I am so "cute and small". But, man, I admire you because I do let them get the best of me and get angry. I loved your reflection. I enjoyed reading your accepting of who you are and how you don't mind it. And I, of course, loved loved loved you pun! Awesome job, Khail! (:
I really enjoyed your piece because it has the connotations of the everyday students mind. Although not everyone has the same problems or doubts, we can all have tendancies to think of ourselves as lesser than how others see us. Thank you for sharing your life experience and personal reflection.
This was a very honest piece from you Mykhail. As a fellow man myself, I relate to your dilemma that you have. Although not short myself, I have my own flaws. However, the fact that you were able to overcome this hurdle and accept who you are shows what kind of character you are. It is this reason why you are one of my best friends, I have seen you grow personally to bigger heights, maybe not physically but as a great human being. Great work man!
Tedman Nguyen
P: 1
Aww Khail I totally feel you...I liked how you described your experiences being short and how you overcame not caring. I'm stiil working on that myself but hey, you're still taller than me :)
Dude, it is awesome that you've come to this realization about life and yourself. being able to embrace who you are and yourself is a great accomplishment, more people need to look at themselves in a better light and I am glad to hear that you were able to achieve that.
- Zac Coaston Period 5
Humble Mykhail,
Your piece reminded me that we shouldn’t allow what other people think of us to restrict our own happiness and peace. We can achieve such things when we stop living to please others and start loving ourselves. Self respect is very important, and your testimony is such an answer to the question of how we should live. I commend the courage you exemplified by writing this piece and I could really hear your voice through these light hearted and wise words.
Your friend,
Gian Velasquez (Period 1)
I really loved how you wrapped up your story with that pun since it made me laugh. Your writing reminded me how one should not live their life trying to be someone their not but how we should live life as how we see fit. We should live life loving ourselves not condemning ourselves. Great job.
MyKhail, I'm glad that you didn't choose to isolate your hardships from everyone else- I think the fact that you humbled yourself and brought your issues into the realm of the general public is what made this piece so genuine. I think its great that you know who you are and accept the facts, even the small physicality. Great job, really.
As being extremely short myself I feel your pain. It's never easy having to be of a short height, and although people say "it's ok you're a girl, it's natural." To me it doesn't, because of course I was shorter than most 5th graders too. However your humbleness of your situation relates to how I dealt with being this height as well. I love how you changed a negative situation into something positive and into a lesson. You are very humble in this piece, and it's very inspiring. The pun was golden to me and just your mellow tone allowed me to understand and indulge deep into your piece. I agree with your saying, that life won't always be easy but it's not about the end it's about the journey.
-Katheryn Valle
Period 1.
Aweh, Khail. I don't get how it feels to be short. i really don't but I think you brought up a universal feeling of longing for acceptance and the feeling of never being good enough and how we are the fault. You really helped make something I personally can't (height) and turned it into a completely relatable topic. Good use of vocabulary, I really enjoyed this piece.
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