THE STARES

My parents always tell me that I could write a book on “The Stares” … because lets face it, my whole life I have dealt with people staring, pointing, laughing, judging etc. Being a little person can sometimes (almost always) put me in a awkward situation. Here the classic example in my experience: There is a group of people that are talking about me as I am walking and then when I walk past the group all of the sudden they are silent…. I wasn’t born yesterday! Come on! Most people think that we don’t know when others are staring or commenting or pointing. BUT WE DO KNOW…. MUCH MORE THAN YOU THINK…

But I’ll give you this piece of advice… if you see a little person instead of staring, ask them a question. 3 out of 5 times you will find it a less awkward situation if you simply ask them a question. My personal preference is to be asked questions, rather than having people try to figure me out silently in their head. “Is she a child?” “Where are her parents?” “Is she an adult?” “Why is she alone?” … AND SO MANY MORE. Simply ask. Majority of us will be more than happy to answer questions you have. More importantly if more people ask, we also start to shatter this idea of “something being wrong” with us. When people stare or when parents teach their kids to ignore us, it says that there is “something wrong” with us. We are human beings just like everyone else in this world. I am your neighbor, your co-worker, your cousin, your sibling, maybe even your boss …. We share this world together. Why be scared to ask a question?