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5 realities you have to live with when you're an adult in a tiny body

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I am a tiny person. Here are 5 things you have to deal with when you're less than 150 centimeters tall.

Getting asked for your ID, everywhere

At 1.47cm (apparently 1cm shorter than pop singer Ariana Grande - just thought I might add it in there… to make myself feel better), I get asked for my ID every, single, time I buy a drink. 

And if you’re probably thinking, well it can’t be that bad I want to tell you that you’re wrong. Try going to Wimpy in your short state and attempt to sit in the smoker’s section. Yes, my friends, I got asked for my ID in a WIMPY that doesn’t even sell alcohol because they thought I was 12.

I was 19.

Since that fateful day, I’ve lost my ‘legal’ disposition to even walk into a liquor store and buy booze, because I know what they’re going to ask... It becomes so tiresome and predictable.

And when you’ve finally made it (high five) into a 18-and-over facility, such as a club, you’ll get asked more than once if you’re allowed to be in there and I guarantee you the bartender will give you the stink eye (he never says anything, just looks and hands you the drink) and makes you feel guilty for ordering a Hunter’s Gold. In fact, I’ll normally order an ice tea, just to avoid taking out my license in a restaurant, because ain’t nobody got time for that.

Getting called the c-word

You get told every short joke and called every nickname imaginable. Shorty, Tiny, Little One, Kleintjie, Little Lamb and even Short Shit. And eventually you become immune. In fact, I have become so unfazed by the whole ordeal that I’ve made fun of it myself. But the one thing I CANNOT stand is when people tell me I’m cute. That c-word literally makes me cringe and clench my fists in order to stop the (mini) volcano erupting inside of me.

Getting mistaken for a school kid

If I had a rand for everytime someone said, “You’ll appreciate it when you’re older” I won’t be a millionaire, but I’ll probably be R100 000 richer. And I still get asked what grade I am in, after graduating university, and when I tell people that I am a graduate they have the nerve to think I’m lying. Why would I lie about being 14 years old? And what’s more embarrassing is when kids way younger than you are taller and your family or friends force you to stand next to them. It’s so humiliating.

READ: 9 things all flat-chested women can relate to

Shopping for clothes is a nightmare

I’m 21 and I shop at the kiddies department, there I said it. Laugh at me, I’m immune, but if you’re some top notch clothing designer for kids, please make more decent non-frilly and non-glittery clothing that some teenagers (and older women) can be seen wearing in public. I’ll be eternally grateful.

Finding a bae is very difficult

Then there’s the problem of finding a partner (okay I partly blame myself, because I friendzone every guy I meet), but honestly I cannot meet any man my own age, unless I’m with a friend. I completely give up on finding someone, because whenever a guy looks at me, my thoughts involve, “He probably thinks I’m still in high school...”

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