Too Tall

I heard some people at the dining hall talking about what physical characteristic of themselves they'd like to change. There were five of them, and four said they'd like to be considerably taller. That's in holding with what I hear most of the time; roughly 80% of people operate under the impression that an increase in height would generally improve their lot in life. 

I think, in this case, that roughly 80% of people are roughly 95% wrong. I know all the statistics about taller people getting paid more and so on, too. I'm just talking about overall quality of life experience. Also, this is from the perspective of a person who's "pretty damn" tall.

What people perceive about being taller: they will be more attractive and successful in all endeavors! Life will become easier! They will be able to reach ALL the shelves!

The actual reality: The first (and often only) thing people will say to you is "You're really tall!" You're significantly more at risk for all sorts of joint and connective tissue problems, and even if you don't have a diagnosed condition they're just going to hurt all the time.  You're gonna trip over everything, and generally not be very coordinated. You also live in a world designed for people four inches shorter than you are, so everything you don't trip over is going to hit you in the face. You stick horribly out in every crowd and experience constant feelings of scrutiny and exposure. They're not unjustified, either; people actually do stare at you like a weird circus animal because, apparently, they've never seen a tall person before. You can, in fact, reach all the shelves. Worth?

TL;DR Careful what you wish for.