Analogy

Last night, while reading The Fellowship of the Ring, I decided that being depressed is kind of like being a Hobbit in a world full of Big Folk. Sure, everyone goes through a phase where they're that short, but you are stuck with it forever. All the signs are hung too high for you to see. All the table and countertops require a boost. You know you don't really belong, and so does everyone around you who takes a second to notice. The nice ones will talk to you, bending down and trying to make you feel somewhat less short- but you can see their bent knees, and you know they will never be like you, never have to deal with this. Or they'll stand up, talking with their head bowed, and you can see either way that it makes them uncomfortable. The not-so-nice ones will carefully talk to a point over your head, so it's hard for you to hear them. This also applies to people who somehow do not notice how close to the ground you are. Many people deny the existence of Hobbits, and decide that you're obviously a child who should stop pretending to be an adult.

There are entire companies that seem to deny your existence, but at the same time offer products that will "make anyone more normal". Elevator and platform shoes can give you a taste of what it's like to be tall, but they're awkward, and you're likely to fall down. And you're left hoping that either nobody notices your short arms, or they mistake you for an adolescent T-rex. (Roar loudly to enhance this effect.) There are even stilts out there that, once you learn to properly use them, can make you taller and faster than any of the Big Folk.

And sometimes, from the top of your stilts, you look around and realize that there are more Hobbits up here than you could have guessed. Many of them are the same people who have been so mean or so oblivious. And eventually, you realize that there are hardly any Big Folk. Most of the world is made of Hobbits who have somehow given themselves the appearance of height.

And somehow, when you are not on your stilts, you can never seem to remember that.