As a short girl, I’ve had a lot of challenges in life. None of them have stopped me, though. All my life, I heard the phrase “God only lets things grow until they’re perfect.” While I’m only 4′ 10″, it didn’t take long for me to become perfect, right? Not even a chance.

I’ve also heard the phrase “Good things come in small packages.” This one, I believe. But it took me years to get there. Growing up, I hated being short. My pants never fit, I could never reach anything high up, and I’d get my ID checked everywhere. Being short had a massive impact on my anxiety. I hid it from people, but it was there. So friends thought I was cute and it was ok to pick on my height. I even had nicknames like Shortie, Little Jenn, or Squirt.

Looking back, I wish I was brave enough to say something. I was lacking in confidence and therefore kept quiet. Over the years, I’ve learned to embrace my petiteness. Being short can be challenging, but there’s also a lot of good things about it. If you’re short like me, here are my goto tips to help you manage being little.

1. Have a stool close by. This one might seem obvious, but I have to start here. In my house, I have a stool in the most commonly used places – the kitchen and my office. Do the stools stay in those rooms? Yes, if I can prevent my husband from having sticky fingers. I need these in order to be able to be independent and not have to reply on someone for help.

2. Be strategic. I try to put things within arm’s reach, not have my shelves too high, and wear comfortable shoes everywhere. Instead of trying to be like everyone else, I just focus on being me. Also, don’t be afraid to talk to people out in the wild. You never know when you’re going to need some help.

3. Don’t be defensive, instead, be receptive. After awhile, when you meet people for the first time, you can tell if the height comment is coming or not. If it does, let it go. The normal population tend to be surprised when they see little people and they acknowledge it. What’s even crazier is that sometimes, they don’t even see us at all.

4. Check the kid’s department. No, I’m not kidding. Even as adults, we can save money on clothes and shoes just because we’re smaller. Take advantage of that! Athletic shoes, for example, are one of the biggest money savers. Buying them in the kid’s department can save you $50 or more and that adds up over time.

5. Be proud of YOU! It can seem like a challenge, but remember those sayings I mentioned. They were created by someone for a reason. While that reason have nothing to do with height, they fit our situation. We may be small, but we have big hearts and that matters way more than size!

I have to wrap up this post with this. My favorite saying of them all is “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” So stand tall, be confident, and take on life with everything you’ve got.