TALL GIRL POWER

When you walk in the hallways at school, do you see above everyone?
When you shop for pants, are they never long enough?
When you go out in public do people ask you if you play basketball? Or worse, do they ask you, “How’s the weather up there?”

If you answered yes to these questions, then you’ve come to the right place!

I was a 6-foot-tall seventh grader when I started playing volleyball. Everyone assumed that since I was tall, I would try volleyball and basketball. Little did they know I didn’t possess a single ounce of athleticism. I actually got demoted from “A” team to “B” team midseason, that’s how unskilled I was.

If this resonates with you, don’t lose hope! Because for me, all it took was one fateful club season and a couple of coaches who saw my potential.
When I was in seventh grade, struggling in volleyball and standing out like a sore thumb everywhere I went, I never felt like I belonged anywhere.

I didn’t have a sense of self or identity yet. I was never embarrassed to be tall, but at the age of twelve, it felt like more of a burden and less of a gift.

Volleyball helped me understand why being a tall girl gives you this power, this sense of pride. So many people and so many volleyball players say they wish they were taller, so if you’re a tall queen… OWN IT!!

I now stand at 6 feet and 6 inches tall. I’ve always been the tallest person on every team I’ve played on through high school, club and college.
However, I’ve faced off against taller girls at the net.

6’7”
6’8”
Even 6’9”

Volleyball is a community of tall girls. I always felt like a giant at school, but walking through a qualifier, I felt normal for the first time in my life. I played in my first qualifier in St. Louis when I was 12. Walking through the crowds, I brushed past players, parents and coaches that were all my height or taller. I was finally in the land of my people.

The older I got, the more I looked forward to qualifier weekends. I was more comfortable with my height and started to see the benefits of being tall. While I was never very fast, being tall made me a more physical player. College coaches started coming to watch my team’s court. They’d request phone calls and visits and I accepted each opportunity as it came.

I went to the University of Florida volleyball camp that summer and the legendary Mary Wise asked to see my hands. She said big hands make for big blocks. She made me feel cool. She made me feel wanted. She didn’t make me feel like a “freak” for having big hands, big feet and a tall stature.

So often as a tall girl, I feel people stare and hear the remarks they make under their breath.
“Look at her.” “Wow, she’s tall.” Or my personal least favorite, “Oh my gosh, she’s huge.”
They make me feel like an exhibit at the zoo. An oddity and a spectacle. Sometimes I want to lash out and yell back, “I’m tall, not deaf.”

I have to remind myself that I’ve been living in this body for 22 years. It’s my normal. These people have probably never seen a woman my height in their whole life (unless they’ve been at a volleyball qualifier)!

More times than not, people who notice your height are staring in adoration. They’re not trying to be rude, they’re just trying to comprehend that tall girls like us actually do exist.
So the next time someone asks, “How’s the weather up there?” You better put those shoulders back, smile and tell them, “It’s lovely up here, thanks for asking.”