My favorite childhood movie was National Velvet, and I yearned to someday be a jockey like Elizabeth Taylor. I loved horses and knew that will dedication and skill, I could someday win the Preakness and the Kentucy Derby. My ambitious dream of becoming a jockey was dashed by age 10, when my height reached six feet. Jockeys could be young or old, male or female, but they were all well under five-foot-six.As an American woman, I've never appreciated everyone's obsession with being tall. Maybe because my stature was genetic ...view middle of the document...
I wear slimming, sophisticated clothes and usually appear more mature than my 25 years. My superiors tend to take me seriously, somehow equating stature with wisdom and experience. I'm also a killer basketball player, a starter for all four years for the Kansas State Lady Cats. In my more honest moments, I'll admit that I actually enjoy being the center of attention when I walk into a room. As a six-foot-four, naturally blonde amazon, I always get noticed. People are usually delighted to discover that the "tall blonde" is also funny, smart, hard working and talented.Yet a small part of me will always be 10 years old, dying to be short like everyone else. I could be a jockey, a gymnast or simply a small, cute girl. Maybe I'd have become a "diminutive rock star" like Madonna or Gwen Stefani. Yet destiny obviously had another fate in mind, blessing me with a tall stature, an intelligent mind and a devastating sense of humor. I've learned over time to use and develop all of my gifts in a positive way to benefit my friends, employers and society. If that means forfeiting my win at the Kentucky Derby, so be it.
