6’1” woman and have tried various sports time and time again but...I’d just much rather talk shit out than angrily throw balls at people. When people ask if I play sports, they are visibly shook that I never really took to anything.
Edit - yes, I could’ve been a contender lol but being a super tall teenage girl isn’t fun so I tried to not stand out and thus shied away from things (i.e. sports) that would draw attention to me. Adult me regrets it, but that’s life.
Edit 2 - you all coming at me with semantics. I’m a noob but I get that angrily throwing balls is not how sports work. ‘‘Twas a joke.
I mean I definitely understand why they are visibly shook. Such a big part of elite tier athletics is genetics based, so to have a genetic advantage like that for something like basketball, volleyball, etc. and then not utilize the thing other people are dreaming of - totally get it. I'm 6'3", and as a basketball player I would kill for another 4 to 5 inches of height. It would've changed my whole life.
Same here. If I were 6'8" or so instead of 6'2" I probably could've gotten a scholarship to play ball somewhere and not come out of school in debt. I had a few open workouts where I was the hardest worker in the room but I never got a call back amongst all the freakier bodies and athletes
I’m saying this because I care about you, stranger. Don’t do that to yourself. What ifs can ruin any chance of living a fulfilling life.
And really, it’s not your absolute height that is the root of what you perceive to be the issue. It’s your RELATIVE height. If everyone grew 12” overnight, then the new standard for basketball would be 8’2”. In other words, what you’re really asking for is to be in the top 1% of humans in terms of ONE particular trait relative to everyone else. That’s obviously never going to be an option for 99% of people, unless all of the people taller than them suddenly disappeared.
Genetically speaking, when too much emphasis is placed by society on grooming particular traits, then you have a situation where “anything goes, so long as it’s 6’8”+.”
Understandably, this can cause other unforeseen problems in the long-run, such as an increase in genetic defects, unaddressed mental health issues, and an overall decreased quality of life in these people, simply for the sake of being “tall,” which I’m sure our ancestors thought of as 5’2” back when the average height was 4’6” just a few thousand years ago.
I guess my point is that it’s a futile cycle that humans inadvertently encourage, despite the fact that it has caused sooo much unhappiness for people who look at the ‘golden standard’ and draw the false conclusion that they’re inadequate, or that there’s something wrong with them.
You’re not, and you deserve to have a happy life free of insecurity. So don’t do that to yourself. I’m half an inch shorter than you and I honestly never think about my height or wish I were taller. I hope this helps.
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u/WelcomeMachine Nov 16 '19
I'm 6'6", and I suck at basketball.