What Being Tall Means to Me For me, being tall is something that is engrained in every single cell of my being. In my case, my height is due to two completely different causes. The first reason for my tallness is that my father is 6’3”. Having a father this tall was mostly likely going to mean that I would not be petite. The second reason for my height was that I was also born with a genetic disorder called Trisomy X. This means I have an extra x chromosome. With this chromosome anomaly typically comes an extra couple of inches of height. Tall dad, plus extra X chromosome equates to my being six inches taller than my mother and nearly a foot taller than most of my cousins. I consider my height to be one of my super powers which I …show more content…
As a 5th grader, I was the tallest person at my elementary school. This included the teachers, janitors and administrators. Often, kids and other parents would mistake me for one of the teachers. This is one of my favorite perks of being tall. People always seem to take those of us who are tall more seriously. Perhaps it’s our position of power, looking down upon others, or it’s because we naturally look a bit more mature and “serious”; but I find I’m initially treated with a higher level of respect than my shorter peers. Being nearly 6’ tall has its advantages. Crowds aren’t as loathsome because I stand above most people. Not only do I not get buried in the hustle, but I’m easily spotted and can look above the heads to find where I’m going. Because of this, I’m usually assigned the job of “navigator” when travelling in groups. Once I enter the workforce, this super power may even help me earn more money. Studies have shown that tall people earn more than their shorter counterparts. As an environmental science major, I plan to spend much of my time outdoors. My extra height will help me functionally while I work to create sustainable gardens; as I won’t need a ladder as often to assess the health of my
During my first few weeks, I met a student named Joseph. He towered over me at 6-foot-4 and weighing 300 pounds. At first, I didn't know what to expect from him.I was surprised to learn he had failed the 9th grade twice and with this being his third try he was in the same grade as his younger brother, Jason. Joe and I became friends fast. I was treated differently because of my skin color but Joe did not judge me. Through students chit-chatter, I learned Joe was very popular and on the football team but had unexpectedly quit his first year. Joe struggled with his classes especially in English and Mathematics. One day in English, another kid was struggling to read a passage aloud, the classroom was filled with snickers and the teacher made the poor kid continue. After class, Joe comforted the kid and made him smile. That was his talent,, he had the ability to make people feel better.
Genetic disorders can be caused by many of the 46 chromosomes in human cells. This specific disorder is linked to a mutation in the long arm of the X, or 23rd chromosome. The mutation is recessive, meaning a normal X chromosome can hide it. Females have two X chromosomes allowing them to hide the mutated recessive one, making them a carrier of the gene, while males only have one X chromosome, meaning that they are unable to hide the mutation and they become effected by the disease. Therefore if a male carries the gene, he is affected because he has no way of dominating the recessive gene, but if a female carries it, she is only a carrier and has a 50/50 chance of passing it on to her baby. This may seem like a high probability however, only one in every fifty thousand male births will have this immunodeficiency disease.
“The tale of a tragic ending with an even more tragic circumstance.” Said Ebony Hays
There are some really gross and demeaning ways in which short statured people are exploited such as dwarf throwing contests, dwarf wrestling, and generally, the portrayal of short statured people in movies and television that endows them with ‘special’ characteristics (either evil or good).
I walked into the 6th grade classroom and looked up at the faces of Jack Vander Stelt and Tristan Saarie. I thought for sure I was in the wrong class and the wrong grade. Jack was a full six foot three inches and Tristan one of the tallest girls I’d ever seen. I already felt like the smallest person in the world, but now I was extremely panicked and thought for sure I would never fit in there.
Jacob Syndrome is a rare condition where males contain an additional copy of the Y chromosome in their cells. According to the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, (GARD, 2012), other names for Jacob Syndrome include: 47, XYY syndrome, XYY Karyotype, and YY syndrome. Statistics from Genetics Home Reference (2014) state that Jacob Syndrome appears in approximately 1 in 1,000 male newborns. In the United States, 5 to 10 male newborns have Jacob Syndrome.
Even though it wasn't really mentioned in the book, I believe there may have been handicaps placed on people who were too intelligent, tall, and beautiful. For example Equality was a very handsome, tall, intelligent man that the leaders knew would be dangerous if he ever figured out he could do tasks on his own, so that's why they gave him the job as a Street Sweeper rather than appointing him to a position on the Council of Scholars. But is this a fair thing to do to others just because they might be better? No it's not but they did it to protect the society from any
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"It 's not a matter of position," Grove says. "It 's the way an individual impresses others once they 're in a higher position." (Psychology Today 40.3 (2007): 34-35). Society today is very envious of others that have succeeded the ladder higher than their peers. When a person decides to do more for their selves, some become envious and hateful because they want what they have. As one builds their reputation to help their own satisfaction and dreams or goals, others may try to hamper their accomplishments by attacking them verbally, emotionally, or even physically. We all as human beings are of a different race and sex. We all have different looks and ideas. These differences in each of us are what makes us individuals. Individuality is one of the greatest aspects a human being can own for their own self-being. The gratitude one gets from being their own person is one of the greatest gifts we have as an American in today’s ruled society. This is what distinguishes us apart from all else,
Other little people have also tried their take in Hollywood in a more stereotypical and comical representation of dwarfism from the likes of Verne Troyer’s role as Mini Me in the Austin Powers movies, Wee-Man on MTV’s Jackass to Martin Klebba in Project X. According to Meeuf in his article, Dinklage’s success has provided a much broader set of images, narrative, and attitudes about dwarfism in the mainstream media. Dinklage deviates from the history of the dwarfs in entertainment media as “freaks, child impersonators, leprechauns, or any other mythical character” (Adelson p.236). The rise of Dinklage has been somewhat of a breakthrough for the dwarfism
I would see the principal’s machine on a regular basis and always think, “How in the hell does he get in?” After meeting the principal, I was taken to meet my fellow co-workers. I first met the head janitor, named Jim. He was very tall, and not very muscular. He was an amazingly friendly man, and I could tell he was passionate about his job, but was very restrained socially because of the people he was forced to communicate with on a daily basis.
When we were in high school, all of us wanted to be in the "cool crowd." As described in When I was growing up by Nellie Wong, "I discovered the rich white girls.imported cotton dresses.and thought that I too should have what these lucky girls had. " In stereotyping people, we perhaps have ruined some great minds. However, when high school was over and the real world came true, high school jocks and cheerleaders didn't have much of a lead over the rest of us.
My first year of junior high, (in our school that was seventh grade) I was not spending all my time trying to be popular like all the other people in my grade. I was just being me how I always had been. One day at I was sitting at the lunch table with a bunch of people I would hang around with sometimes. Some of them were talking about there weekends.
Although people are different in many ways, few differences are more obvious than dwarfism. Because dwarfism is relatively rare, not many worry about unprejudiced treatment of dwarfs.But dwarfs deal with the same issues as “normal” people, while also trying to overcome the problems posed by their abnormally small height. The novel Stones from the River makes us aware of these problems and raises questions:What is dwarfism?And how do dwarfs feel about their conditions? And how does people’s treatment of dwarfs affect their outlook on society in general?
... the hallways. The most uncommon experience is having people point at me in streets warning their children not to be like me, but I am a very confident individual, and I am determined to go on with my life and show everyone that this little setback is not going to stop me from being an achiever in life.