Spring Break
What's on outside doesn't define what's inside
Sarah Paeth
Issue date: 5/7/09 Section: Forum
I was six feet tall with broad shoulders, athletic legs and an arm span the size of Alaska. I was the perfect basketball player, except for one thing - I couldn't play.
I've always been tall for my age. Naturally, my height led others to the assumption that I was a superstar athlete.
How very wrong they were.
I started playing basketball when I was six and continued with the sport until I was a senior in high school. My dribbling usually led to turnovers and it wasn't uncommon for the point guard to out-rebound me. No matter how hard I tried, I remained incapable of boxing out for fear of accidentally knocking someone over.
Indeed, my knack for being too polite to opposing team members earned me the nickname "Ms. Manners."
My father said that my coordination would just "kick in," as if all I had to do was flip a magical switch in my brain and I'd turn into Michael Jordan.
Fourteen years have passed since I first set foot on the court, and the flip still hasn't been switched.
I won't forget how embarrassed I felt when relatives came to watch me play only to see me sit on the bench for the entire game. I won't forget the humiliation I felt when playing with freshmen as an upperclassman.
However, I didn't quit basketball because I believed in the fairy tale that if I tried hard the coach would play me.
Being a tall female in today's society certainly has its ups and downs, pardon the pun. As I was usually taller than most of the male leads in my swing dance class, I learned to endure the "Wow, you're taller than the other girls" comments. And when people tell me that they hope I can find a husband taller than myself, I jokingly inform them that I'm dating a dwarf.
People tend to think of race and religion when it comes to stereotypes, but generalizations span farther than just color.
My height is a part of who I am, but it doesn't define me. Just because I'm tall doesn't make me an athlete. Just because someone wears glasses doesn't make them a bookworm. Just because someone is overweight doesn't mean they can't model clothes.
I've always been tall for my age. Naturally, my height led others to the assumption that I was a superstar athlete.
How very wrong they were.
I started playing basketball when I was six and continued with the sport until I was a senior in high school. My dribbling usually led to turnovers and it wasn't uncommon for the point guard to out-rebound me. No matter how hard I tried, I remained incapable of boxing out for fear of accidentally knocking someone over.
Indeed, my knack for being too polite to opposing team members earned me the nickname "Ms. Manners."
My father said that my coordination would just "kick in," as if all I had to do was flip a magical switch in my brain and I'd turn into Michael Jordan.
Fourteen years have passed since I first set foot on the court, and the flip still hasn't been switched.
I won't forget how embarrassed I felt when relatives came to watch me play only to see me sit on the bench for the entire game. I won't forget the humiliation I felt when playing with freshmen as an upperclassman.
However, I didn't quit basketball because I believed in the fairy tale that if I tried hard the coach would play me.
Being a tall female in today's society certainly has its ups and downs, pardon the pun. As I was usually taller than most of the male leads in my swing dance class, I learned to endure the "Wow, you're taller than the other girls" comments. And when people tell me that they hope I can find a husband taller than myself, I jokingly inform them that I'm dating a dwarf.
People tend to think of race and religion when it comes to stereotypes, but generalizations span farther than just color.
My height is a part of who I am, but it doesn't define me. Just because I'm tall doesn't make me an athlete. Just because someone wears glasses doesn't make them a bookworm. Just because someone is overweight doesn't mean they can't model clothes.
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