Ashalina Ahmed | 8A
Coming from a short student, life isn’t as bad as it’s pictured. It’s just how you look at it. Some think it’s full of disadvantages, while others swear it comes with some secret perks too.
Since the start of my school life, I’ve always maintained the record of being first—Not academically, line-wise! I can experience the pride of being the pack leader, but at the same time, I’m always being stared down by the teachers in every assembly, being the only one expected to ‘maintain discipline’ while the rest of my classmates throw a bash at the back of the line.
Then there’s the whiteboard, a whole other struggle. My shortness is somehow inversely proportional to my desire to clean it. The shorter I am, the more I want to be in charge of cleaning the whiteboard. By now, I’m better than a ninja at the art of tip-toeing, recreating a tom-and-jerry scene every time I try to rub the corner of the board.
Taking out books from my backpack? That’s another venture. I have to dive into the vast sea of mixed books, head-first, with barely enough light to see anything. After a few seconds of squinting, I finally locate the book and take my face out of the bag with a proud smile—my tiny accomplishment perfectly matching my tiny height.
Being a short student basically makes it impossible for you to become a back-bencher. The teacher can’t see you behind your towering classmates so you get a free front-seat pass from day one. Then, you just spend the rest of your year with the teacher always keeping a hawk’s gaze on you.
There are also many plus points of being short. While your classmates have to bend to save their heads from colliding with low doorways, you can easily pass without having to bend.
In my class, we sit in a U structure. In order to leave their seats, my classmates have to move the table forward, get out and then place the table back, while my way is just to crawl out from the bottom of the table.
In life, everything has pros and cons. What we have to do is try our best to SLAY with it. Being short isn’t a battle—it’s continuous comedy, plus it makes you look younger than your real age, which you’ll surely appreciate once you grow older. I know I already do!