#GempakSpot: All The Little Things: 5 Things Only A Short Person Will Understand

Let us tell you, the struggle is real and it's not remotely funny despite what our friends may think.

Don't believe us? Here's a short list of things we have to face in a world built for tall(er) people.

Let us know if you can relate to these things:

Public transportation during peak hours, concerts, markets - you name it. Forget about being able to see, breathing itself is difficult.

Our faces are usually below the shoulder-level of most people, which means when there's a large crowd, our air supply is blocked by all the humans.

We literally have to tilt our heads up to get enough air, and the discomfort, ladie and gents, is no joke.

Since our faces are often below a person's shoulders, our noses are also in closer proximity to...armpits.

Yup. Imagine being us in a crowded LRT, MRT or any other public transportation after working hours.

True story: there was this time a guy was holding on to the rail above his head and... let's just say the proximity was not pleasant and we have avoided taking the trains during peak hours since.

The crick in the neck is one thing, but the knee pain is another.

Since most chairs or any type of seats are built for taller people, often, our legs don't reach the ground. Sure, it's sometimes fun to be able to swing our danggling legs, but it isn't exactly good for our posture.

The best way to sit, for anyone, is to have both our foot planted firmly on the ground. This is not even an option for us, so pain it is.

The number of people who think short jokes, using our heads as 'arm rests' and just generally being annoying is funny is just too damn high.

It's one thing when it comes to friends, we're pretty immune to these jokes and can even laugh along most times, but when it comes from a stranger, it's a different story.

Never in the history of ever has making fun of a person's physical appearance has been a good way to make friends, be it their heights, their weight, or any other attributes.

It's 2020, guys. Let's grow up and learn to look beyond the physical when we meet new people.

Before you ask, no: we can't shop in the children's section because we are not built in the same shape as children before they hit puberty.

When a store says 'petite', they usually mean thin, as well as slightly below average in height.

As a 'curvy' person, never have this writer been able to find anything on the 'petite' rack, which is very limitted anyway.

Finding a pair of jeans that doesn't need alteration is also next to impossible, but lucky for us, there are many stores that offer free alteration services. However, we still don't even bother with pants or skirts that are supposed to be 3/4 in length.

Tops like T-shirts, blouses or even dresses are a little bit more tricky because if one part fits, another might not.

They never stop where they shoud - crop tops are often just slightly shorter top, a dress that should stop mid-thigh often reaches the knee, and a long dress is an impossibility without some alteration that will cost money.

But when we do find clothes that fit or manage to alter, we still look cute in them, so still a win.

Despite it all, being short has its advantages: your friends always stand up for you when someone tries to bully you, you learn to fight anyone who think they can get the upper hand just because they are bigger, someone is always willing to help you to reach the things on the top shelves even when there's a chair nearby you could use, you almost never have to duck to avoid hitting your head... the list goes on.

However, having said that, do be nice to your shorter friends, yeah? Whatever short jokes you have, they've probably heard them all.