Walking Taller Than Ever Before

Growing up I hated being tall because I was the tallest and I still am. My peers would mock me all the time when I was in Primary, even in high school. It was not comfortable having to go home with tears in my eyes because I thought I was disabled or I didn't "fit in." I would think twice about going to school because I knew it would be yet another sad day for me.

As I grew older I still didn't like being tall, I never embraced it like I do now. My mom would always diss me and say "being tall is a disability my child, you should be getting a disability grant." But in my head, I knew that she was kidding. Being the tallest sucks, I tell you... you don't find jeans that are long, or wear a smaller shoe size, you are able to reach anything, and you are taller than everyone in the room. I never stood in the front row, I always made sure that I was at the back so that I wouldn't block other people's "view."

When I started my first year at Damelin College in 2016, I started seeing myself differently, because there I met people like me and when people saw me they were fascinated, that gave me confidence, the confidence that I never had. My friends would tell me that I am beautiful just the way I am, I honestly didn't see myself as that.

Wherever I go, people ask me if I am a model or a basketball player when I tell them I'm neither, they frown. It's funny really because I never wanted to be either but now I am so interested in Modelling you'd swear I never disliked it. Had I not made it to Braamfontein, I'd still be the same shy girl with low self-esteem and with no confidence at all.

Now I am confident, I know I am beautiful as tall as I am and I am strong. I know that being tall isn't a disability like my mom used to say. It is a beautiful gift. I am unique. I can take advantage of my height and let it work for me. Tall girls really are beautiful creatures because nothing compares to them.