Full moon crazies

With tonight being a full moon, I asked all of my previous tall ladies if the effects of the full moon ever affected them.

The short answer is no. (And I was laughed at.) The long answer, is well, no, sort-of.

First of all, I should explain what all the hocus-pocus of the full moon theory is.

An article from 2005 on psychology today’s website (http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200502/full-moon-crazy) says:

“Everything from increases in violent crime and psychotic behavior to stock market fluctuations has been blamed on the effects of the fully illuminated moon. In 19th-century England, lawyers used the "guilty by reason of the full moon" defense to claim that their "lunatic" clients could not be held accountable for acting under the moon's influence.”

As well as:

“So why do 81 percent of mental health professionals, according to a University of New Orleans study, believe that lunar cycles affect human behavior? Part of the reason is historical: The illuminated moon played a more prominent role for our ancestors as both a calendar and a night-light. Before electric lighting became ubiquitous, a bright moon was more likely to disrupt sleep producing widespread grouchiness.”

Danielle Pittman, 5’4”, says she has trouble sleeping during the full moon, but has never experienced the effects.

Basically, it means that people go crazy when it’s a full moon. You’d think that since tall people are closer to the moon, they’d experience it, right? Apparently not.

In my inquiries, I found not a lot of people experience it, whether they’re tall, short or average. The most common thing is people’s unexplained behavior.

Shane Meagher, 6’0”, says when he was a manager at a movie theatre he would prepare himself for the crazies.

“I use to have to base what kind of manager I used to be on how close to the full moon we were,” he says. “I’d have to mentally prepare for the crazies that were about to complain to me.”

Jenna Pulice, 5’7”, experienced a strange encounter on a full moon once.

“Once there was a full moon and then I saw a black cat and accidentally broke a mirror in one day,” she says. “I remember being like fuck I broke a mirror seven years bad luck. Then the black cat was so creepy and only after I realized there was a full moon. I was just freaked out and I didn't want to go out after that.”

Long story short: look out for the crazies today, folks. 

It's really just a short, short world

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the world wasn’t meant for me, a lot lately. I find myself hunched over a lot, to reach the things made for the average sized person.  It’s frustrating because I’m tired of the lower back pain caused from bending over.

I have no idea what the world would be like if it were made for my size, as I’ve never experienced it. The only time I ever felt small in public was when I visited Holland on a school trip when I was 17.

A friend of mine, who is six-feet, and I found these over-sized deck chairs in Amsterdam and decided to sit in them. It was a weird feeling being small for once.

As a part of my program, we are required to complete a six-week work placement in March. I decided to go to St. John’s, NFLD, where I know one person in the city.

I’m currently looking for a place to live and had to turn down a nice place because the room was too small for my size. The bed was in a corner and up against both walls, not giving any space for hanging feet. I don’t usually fit on beds because my feet hang out.

Youtuber Paul Stansik made a video/rap about how he desires tall blonde girls. 

“Shout out to your parents for the great genetics, because if we end up having kids they’ll excel at athletics… I hope that didn’t sound too forward, but I want my future children to be good at sports if they choose to do so.” That is my favourite line in the entire song.

The video touches on tall girl problems such as, intimidating shorter guys, lack of legroom on public transportation and always being asked about volleyball. 

Does it really matter if a taller girl dates a shorter person?

The classic idea of a heterosexual couple is a shorter girl and a taller man. This has been around for years, but why does it seem to matter so much?

Cassie Stringer, 5’9”, is a nursing student at Algonquin College and the University of Ottawa. She says she would never date a shorter man.

Cassie Stringer stands at a stunning 5'9". 

“As a tall girl, you just don't fit nicely with short guy,” she says. “Cuddling is a no go. I'm a girl and I want to be the little spoon.”

She says she wants to be carried on her wedding day, not carrying someone. This is just her personal preference, and says that other tall girls can date whomever they choose.

“[Tall girls can] do whatever [they] want but I like the idea of my man taking care of me, not some dwarf,” she says. I agree. I’d prefer Legolas to Kili or Fili.

Kelsey Meagher, 6’0”, has never dated a shorter man and doesn’t think she ever would. Her current boyfriend is also 6’0”.

“Personally, I think my height intimidates a lot of boys,” she says. “I am always asked how tall I am and am asked to stand back-to-back to see who is taller. Boys are usually the ones who make me have this competition – not sure exactly why – my assumption is they are intimidated by my height and if they find out I’m shorter than them by a little they have a big ego boost. It’s rather strange.”

Isabelle Mathieu, 5’10” and a half, says she doesn’t have any interest in dating a shorter man, as she is attracted to taller ones. She prefers a taller man because it makes hugging easier. I agree, enough of this face-to-chest-area like when you hug your short friends. It gets real personal, real fast.

Isabelle Mathieu, at a beautiful 5'10" and a half.

It seems to just be personal preference. I just happen to be attracted to taller men, but I respect the girls who don’t care about height and date shorter men, because I have seen it. At a friend’s wedding, her maid of honor (a stunning 6’0” woman) danced with her old high school boyfriend who was around 5’7” or so. It was very cute to say the least.

From what I can tell, it seems to just be girls who have this belief.

Chris Magee, 5’7” has been dating his girlfriend since high school. He says it wouldn’t matter to him if she was taller, but says she would not date him if he was shorter.

James Eng, 5’5”, has dated taller girls before and says height doesn’t matter. “Why would it? It doesn’t change anything,” he says. Eng focuses more on personality than the way a girl looks.

Jordan Morlidge, 6’0, also doesn’t care if a girl is taller. “It's rare that I find a girl taller than me,” he says. ”But I wouldn't feel emasculated if I dated one.”

Tall girls are just attracted to tall men because they just want to feel safe and secure. Not to say that a shorter man wouldn’t keep you safe, but they would just feel safer with someone bigger than them. Personally, I’d prefer someone taller so that I can feel small for once. Constantly being reminded that you’re bigger than everyone else can really take a toll on your self-image. It takes tall girls a really long time to accept that fact that they’re tall.

When I was 12, I convinced myself I was only 5’9” (I was really 5’10”) because my favourite member of my favourite band at the time was that tall and if we ever ended up dating it would be okay. Yeah, like that was ever going to happen.

I used to slouch to seem shorter, which I’m paying for now, and sit down as much as possible to seem smaller. Once I accepted the fact that I was tall and I wasn’t getting any shorter, I was able to be an overall happier person. It took a very tall, and very strange, girl I went to high school with to see that tall girls could be okay with being tall.

Tall girl problems/perks

When my brother measured me Sunday night, I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t six-feet tall and only 5’11”. It’s a little unusual for a girl to think this way, but I find myself a part of a secretive, hidden-in-plain-sight club. We are the Amazonian princesses, the giraffes, the light posts and the skyscrapers. We’ve heard every nickname in the book; sorry, but you’re not being funny or original.

Problems: 

Tall girls are the exact same as every other girl, except we face some exclusive problems.

The worst problem is pants. When you’re short and your pants are too long, you can just roll them up. When you’re tall and your pants are too short, you look foolish or like you’re wearing capris all year round.

I need a 34” inseam for my pants, which means I’m lucky in the tall girl world. Kelsey Meagher, 6’, is a psychology student at Lakehead University. She rocks a 36” inseam and has more difficulty than I.

“I spend so much time trying to find pants that hit me well length wise,” she says. “I am unable to buy cheap jeans or yoga pants. I have to invest in expensive pants in order for them to fit. Tights are also a huge problem for me as my inseam is a 36”. Most stores only sell up to a 34”.”

A good place to buy pants in Ottawa is Long Tall Sally. They carry up to a 38”, but they’re a little pricey. Their prices can range from being on sale at $49 to regular price of $79.

I personally buy my pants at Old Navy, as I’m only a 34” inseam and their tall pants do the trick.

Daphka Kene, 5’10”, is a communications student at Carleton. She says her biggest problem with clothing is that she has to “rock flood pants because 99.99 per cent of stores don't carry longer lengths.”

Another frequent problem is being reminded by strangers that you’re different.

“The comments are harmless,” said Kene. “But it's just such so frustrating when people point out the obvious, I mean you wouldn't walk up to an Asian and [say] "whoa, you're Asian". I know I'm tall for a girl!”

Stacey Poapst, 6’3”, is an advertising and marketing communications student at Algonquin College. Poapst plays varsity basketball at Algonquin, so her height is a big advantage for the game. Her biggest tall-girl-problem is public transportation.

“Really, the world is built for people between 5’ and 5’8”. If you're anywhere over that, it's a little bit more painful to get around.”

I can’t even tell you how many times I come home with bruised knees or shins from hitting them on buses, tables, chairs, anything at shin or knee height.

The biggest problem I have with public transportation is hitting my head. If I sit in the back where there are steps, I often forget that the ceiling also doesn’t go up, so when getting up off the bus I tend to knock my noggin.

A big problem for most tall girls is short boys, and sometimes even the tall ones too.

In my experience, and Kene’s as well, boys can be intimidated by the height.

Most tall-girl-problems are: not being able to sit comfortably in cars, buses, trains, airplanes, your feet always hanging off your bed when you sleep, not being able to buy long sleeve shirts that fit (I always end up with an XL just so the arms are long enough, when I’m a medium) and for some, ducking in doorways.

Perks:

Even though being tall has its problems, it’s also extremely useful for many things.

You can almost always reach things on the top shelf, you can be seen by people if they’re looking for you in a crowd, you can usually see better at concerts or events on a stage, you’re able to walk/run faster than others.

Meagher enjoys that she can reach things in stores that are hung up high without having to get a sale associate.

Poapst likes that everyone looks up to you. Literally.

“You can command a room with physical presence if you need to,” she says.

Kene adores that she doesn’t have to wear heels. I agree. There’s nothing better than seeing every girl trying to be your height and you’re just naturally there.

Even though the problems seem to outweigh the perks, being tall really isn't a bad thing. I love my height, and I’d never wish to change it (maybe a little taller, just to say I’m 6’.)