So I'm tall...

Now, I’m not really sure why, but it happens a lot. Complete strangers will stop me and ask, “How tall are you?” I answer their question politely, but it’s almost inevitable that this next question will follow: “Oh, so you play basketball, right?” No! Wrong! I do not play basketball! After I explain very nicely I do not play basketball because I don’t particularly care for it and I’d rather be dancing or playing the piano, a myriad of comments follow. “Oh, you should be playing basketball. How can you be tall and not play basketball? That’s the whole point of being tall!” First of all, I’m not that tall, and why do people think they can tell me I need to be playing basketball? When I say I don’t play, they should just leave it at that….but, really, why don’t I play?

I’ve always known I don’t want to play basketball. But I never knew exactly why. I always thought it was just because I don’t really care for basketball. It wasn’t until I had a conversation with my neighbor that I realized why I don’t play basketball. He asked me if I was a basketball player and I said, “No, I don’t play basketball, I’ve never wanted too.” My dear old friend looked at me for a minute, then patted my arm and said, “Dear, you don’t have to play basketball if you don’t want too. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” I thought about that for a few years, and then it hit me. I don’t play basketball because people expect that. I’ve never been a rebellious kid, but basketball has been my way of rebelling. Everyone expects tall people (me) to play basketball, so I’m not going too. Ha! I sure hoodwinked you.

Don’t get me wrong, I think basketball is great. I like to watch games, and I even play church ball every winter. But I’m not looking to make a career of it. And I love being tall. It doesn’t bug me when people ask how tall I am, it just bugs me when they try to tell me how I should live my life. There. I said it.
The end.