There are some experiences that are common to all tall people, and one of them is that we all get extra attention — good or bad — from time to time.
You might be one of those lucky souls who has always just enjoyed it. On the other end of the spectrum, some tall girls have never been able to deal with people paying them special attention. They cringe, stoop, and try to disappear. I think that most of use fit somewhere in between: we’d like to be better at standing out with grace.
All over the internet, in every tall forum and every web site, I find lists of comebacks and responses. Sure, swap “Grow up and find out!” for “How’s the air up there” if you like. I think comebacks like that are funny, but unfortunately they’re not my style — and I’m also really bad at remembering them!
Am I wrong in thinking we need to think about more mature ways of coping? Here are my Sunday night ideas. I’d love to hear your Monday morning improvements!
- If someone finds you interesting, rudeness is not the correct response. Even if you’ve heard “Do you play basketball?” a thousand times, it doesn’t hurt to talk about it. People pay us extra attention because we are different, and interesting. Believe it or not, they really don’t know that everyone asks the same old questions.
- Sometimes people make dumb statements because they can’t, in the first moments of meeting you, think of anything else to say. As the ‘different’ one, it’s your job to defuse the tension. No, it’s not fair. Life isn’t. Think about a time when you, say, met a celebrity. Even though you know it’s dumb you might say “Hey, you’re Paul Hogan! That’s not a knife!” Then you’d kick yourself and wish the floor would swallow you. But if that person is cool and calm about it, within a few minutes you’re just two people getting to know one another.
- If someone talks about modeling, the best thing to do is usually to say “thanks, no, but you just made my day.” Then find a new topic of conversation: most people love to talk about themselves.
- However, you do not have to put up with threatening attention. Don’t waste time coming up with one-liners: if someone is outright threatening you or deliberately making you feel ill at ease, tell someone. Do not wait. Do not pass Go, do not collect a major pain in the ass.
Thoughts, anyone?
