At sixteen years old I was the average height of a boy my age.
I come from a line of tall women.
I swear, if you traced us back far enough, we would have Amazon in our blood.
I always cursed these genes,
I was the tallest person in my grade all through elementary school.
Horribly uncoordinated, I was never fit for basketball.
Heels make me feel like a gazelle,
And I can't walk in them anyway.
I always wanted to be a princess, but I am one inch too tall to impersonate one at any Disney park.
I always hated my tall, ungraceful body,
It's as if I was born stretching for more than anyone else.
Reaching for what no one else could see.
But as I grew older, the other children caught up to my stretching body.
Even surpassed it.
I grew into my body like a puppy grows into its paws.
It was far too late for me to truly appreciate my height when I realized being tall was a gift.
I was constructed so that my head was always a little higher than everyone else's.
I guess someone knew I'd need the boost.
I was born stretching and reaching for something I still haven't grasped.
I was made to reach for the moon,
To peek my head over the tops of mountains,
To stand on my tiptoes and see the universe smiling at me from above the clouds.
I was gifted my height by the greatest craftsman in heaven,
But I will never be tall enough to reach the moon.
I'll just have to let it come to me.
Even the Amazons had to wait for the sun to set for the moon to show itself.
I will stretch forever, but my fingers were not made strong enough to skim the smooth surface of the atmosphere.
I suppose I'll have to settle for reaching people.
Stretching myself further to fulfill their needs.
I will hold my head high, shoulders back
Speak clearly with unwavering confidence as my body proclaims
"Here I am. I am a warrior. A master of my size.
I dare you to knock me over.
You will never stretch far enough to reach me."