Walking through the halls of Marquette, it’s hard to miss these girls.

Tall girls. Although movies like “Tall Girl”, which was released earlier this fall, make it seem like being tall comes with a lot of problems, when you actually talk to these girls about their height, they’ll tell you just how much they love being tall.

 “The pros outweigh the cons,” senior Katie Weiss, who is 6’ 0”, said. “You get a lot of comments. I’ve had people tell me that I should model. It’s kind of flattering.”

The average height of girls of Weiss’s age group is about 5’ 4”, based on statistics that were published by the CDC in 2016, making her a whole 8 inches above average. 

According to Weiss, the hardest thing about being tall is just finding clothes that fit her, but many companies have started to expand their sizes to be more inclusive of taller girls like herself. 

Kira Mangan, senior, struggles with back and joint pain because of her height. Despite this, Mangan, who towers at 6’ 2”, only sees her height as something to help her out. 

“My really good friend, when she first met me, she thought ‘Oh my God, monster!’ because I was so tall,” Mangan said. “I can reach things on high shelves. I can see over crowds. It’s kind of awesome.” 

Nevertheless, Mangan said she feels like because people make comments or ask questions about her height so often, it has played a role in why she is so sociable. 

“It has made me more comfortable in social situations and has made me more outgoing because people who I have never met walk up to me and talk to me about my height,” Mangan said.

Zoë Malik, junior, is 5’ 9”. Malik is biracial, her mother is from Denmark and her father is from Pakistan, which contributes to why she is an outlier when it comes to her height. 

Over a century, from 1896 to 1996, the growth in average height for Pakistani women was 3.25 cm, whereas growth in average female height in Denmark in the U.S. grew by 10.09 cm, according to the research organization Our World In Data. 

Therefore, because many people with South East Asian genetics tend to be smaller than others, when she is visiting friends or family from Pakistan, Malik said  the height difference is obvious.

“Being tall has made me more confident because I stand out a bit more,” Malik said. “It has made me the person that I am in terms of being really inclusive and nice towards everyone so they never have to feel uncomfortable.”

Ally Fitzgerald, sophomore,  is 6’ 1”. Fitzgerald said she’s always been taller than most of her peers since her childhood and has had to build up confidence with being so tall. For her, it was hardest to accept her height while transitioning to high school, but with time, she has been able to feel more comfortable in her own shoes.

“Last year at Homecoming, I wore sandals, just because I didn’t have the confidence yet,” Fitzgerald said. “But this year I wore heels because I was just like ‘You know what? Who cares?’, just because I’m tall doesn’t mean I can’t wear heels.”

Although it took her awhile to embrace her height, Fitzgerald genuinely loves being tall, and she wouldn’t want it any other way. 

“We’re normal people, and if you try and get to know us, we’re no different than any other person because of our height,” Fitzgerald said. “If you’re a tall girl, then don’t be afraid to be yourself. Wear heels to Homecoming and do things that girls normally don’t do.”