Bouncing Back from Short Stature: Navigating Confidence and Growth

I just measured myself and I'm 5'5 1/2 barefoot at night, and I rounded up to 5'7 in the morning when I wake up. At 16 in January, I don't have much growth left, but I've always wanted to be somewhat taller.

Back in the day, I was the shortest in the entire classroom, and even the entire school by a solid 5 inches. I'm in Montana, a fairly tall state with an average height of 5'10ish. The kids in my school, and usually kids my age, are just a little shorter or around my height. I wear Vans, which give me about an inch, so with that I'm about 5'7.5–5'8.

Trust me, in the average scheme of things, you really should just not give a singular shit about it. You have plenty more things to give life to rather than something that isn't going to matter in the long run. No supplement, growth hormone, or secret formula, as you often see on Quora, will make you grow 3 inches in 2 months. Trust me when I say this: the moment the height gene was encoded in your DNA, that is the height you will eventually grow to. If you're 5'1 at 13, for example, you aren't short!

Challenging Social Norms and Expectations

Age and height don't define your worth. The girls who won't date you because of your height don't care to get to know you as a person just because of your height, which is uncontrollable. If for whatever reason you're looking at these Quora posts and thinking that you won't have a good time in the dating world, please, stop. The real one for you won't care. I have a 5'4' girlfriend who I was shorter than by a solid 2–3 inches when we got together; I was 14. The height difference never mattered because we cared about personality more than an uncontrollable height difference. And eventually, I grew from 5'1 to 5'5–5'6 both barefoot.

A real woman who wants to get to know you will put aside a height difference and love you for you. Promise that to yourself."

Family Insights for Growth

Now, if you're younger than 16 and even then maybe 18, and you're worried about growth, ask your dad if you're a boy and your mom if you're a girl what they grew like and how they grew. You have a bigger chance to follow in their footsteps. I definitely followed my dad's path.

At 5'7 3/4ths barefoot, my dad grew from 5'2 to 5'7 in about a decade. When he was 14, he was 5'2 and grew steadily by about an inch each year until he was 20, where he was 5'7. When he went in for the army, he gained a lot of weight and grew an inch to 5'8. He just turned 57 in August, and he's a happy 5'7.5–5'8. I've grown pretty slowly but then I randomly shot up. Everyone is different.

Life will carry on no matter if you are 5'2 as a guy or 6'6 as a guy or 4'8 as a girl or 5'11 as a girl. I promise that you will be just fine. Remember, confidence and self-worth are not defined by your height, but by your actions, your attitude, and your personal growth.