"How tall are you? Did you play basketball or volleyball?"
My response is typically always the same...
I'm 5'9" and usually wearing heels so I'm 6', and no - I rode horses.
Which usually baffles people.
But, I wasn't always this tall. In fact my Mom (who is 5'10") thought I might end up with height from my Dad's side of the family, his mother was shorter and that I would be built like my Mom's side of the family, slender. However, after my Sophomore year of high school I grew several inches. I was I guess what you'd call a "late bloomer" and didn't get my height until I was older.
Most people are shocked that I'm not an athlete. I guess I'm sort of built like an athlete, but based on height alone it is assumed I would have participated in sports. I did participate in sports, Little League softball and soccer, where I always had a skinned knee and an unimportant position because I wasn't real into it. I can remember playing basketball in elementary school and thinking I have no desire to get in the middle of that group and fight for the ball. It just wasn't in me.
Just like looking at a book, and judging by the cover we are quick to assume what we think we know about someone just based on the outward appearance. We take a look, form our opinion and assume we know.
The conversations that follow when I tell a stranger that I rode horses are interesting. They are typically in places that lend themselves to quick convo, like an elevator or line in a store. It often seems that my height was wasted by their facial expression and disinterest in what was my chosen sport. Other times I have a bit of a longer conversation that leads to someone finding out a little more about me.
I love the places that riding horses took me...teaching me responsibility, being trusted to hook up a trailer and haul my horse at 16, competing in Miss Rodeo Texas, working at a horse camp for multiple summers, volunteering with horseback therapy, learning courage, learning how to care for an animal and so many other things. All of which have contributed to the person I am today.
I've always been one to try to seek to understand someone before I put together what I think are the pieces of the puzzle. It's not always easy, but it short-sighted of me to just judge a life by the cover and not seek to really know someone. I will say my height has opened up a lot of conversations, ones I never know just where they will go, but I will typically be wearing heels. Though I love my cowboy boots equally as much!
Blessings,
Thanks for sharing Angie.
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