Vlogember Days 3 and 4

Hey y'all so day 3 was really short so I combined Day 3 and 4 into one vlog! Check it out!

Day 5 coming soon to the internet near you! 

-Jillian Ilana 

Day 2

Here's Day 2!! Check out The Chocolate Bar and The Galleria.

VLOGEMBER

Hey Y'all,
So I'm doing vlogember where I'll vlog everyday in November. So here is my day one and day two will be up shortly!

-Jillian Ilana 

Day 2

Of course I'm keeping my promise by posting everyday in honor of Dwarfism Awareness Month, and Inspiration Wednesdays are not included in that. So today I'm going to make a top ten list of things that wouldn't have happened if I was an AP

10. Not getting carded at the movie theater while my friend did and we're the same age
9. Getting asked if I could be given as a gift
8. Having someone give me a dollar to take a picture with me
7. Something I can't mention here but I can say it happened on Bourbon Street (still scarred a little bit from that)
6. Being told I'm a cutie from complete strangers
5. Getting a free bracelet because I have a cute butt
4. Watching my mom get told to be quiet because the lady wanted to give me a free bracelet
3. Getting a medical fast pass at Disney World and Universal Studios
2. Being a football trainer
1. Playing volleyball with other dwarves on Amy Roloff's team


So that's it for now!
-Jillian Ilana

Inspiration Wednesday

It's Hump Day! Happy almost National Mean Girls Day! But more importantly it is Inspiration Wednesday...or inspirations. My inspirations today I discovered by accident. I had to have been a sophomore in high school and I wanted to learn how to do makeup. So naturally I went to youtube. I typed in "make up looks" and the amount of results was staggering. But one look caught my eye and I'll include the video here.

I got inspired by her boldness to wear bright colors and wanted to emulate her style so I kept watching and once I made a youtube account I subscribed to her channel. Over the years she not only taught me how to do makeup, but how to be brave enough to stand out in a crowd and to embrace my inner and outer beauty. She has inspired me to think outside the box and to see beauty in a new and creative way.

My second inspiration I discovered through my first inspiration. Actually they're related. My second inspiration is the first girls younger sister and I first saw her sitting as a model for her older sister. Recently I found her youtube channel and I also subscribed to her channel. Her videos are more about style rather than beauty and she has opened up my eyes to a whole new world of fashion that I have fallen in love with, but there was one video that truly inspired me. Again I'll post it here, but it talked about eating disorders and watching it made me cry and made me realize that my body is mine, it's no one else's. The only person who should care about what my body looks like and there is no reason to hurt myself in order to try to have a body that someone else says I should want. 

So who are these girls? On youtube, they go by the names Xsparkage and Chwelsea respectively. In real life they are Leesha (Alicia) and Chelsea and they inspire me to be the most beautiful I can be on the inside and out. If you haven't watched any of their videos I suggest you do, they are two inspiring women who have definitely given me a better outlook on life. 

Keep on the look out for my day two post today and thank you Leesha and Chelsea for being inspirations, thank you thank you thank you. 

-Jillian Ilana

Leesha's Channels: 

Xsparkage- https://www.youtube.com/user/xsparkage

Chwelsea- http://www.youtube.com/user/superdooperrad 

Dwarfism Awareness!

Morning. It's morning, everyone! Today's the day! The sun is shining, the tank is clean, and we are gonna get out of...(name that movie!). 
Hey y'all so I'm in a movie kind of mood because something very exciting is happening here for the next few weeks, or months. So in case you didn't know I am now a student and Metropolitan City State College. Yupp and guess who goes to school with me? Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko. Still don't know who they are? Maybe you know them by their real names, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. Yupp, Tulane University is the set of 22 Jump Street, the sequel to 21 Jump Street. Needless to say I am on the hunt for Channing and Jonah, maybe he'll come to the showing of This is the End tonight? Fingers crossed! 

Along with 22 Jump Street, today marks the beginning of Dwarfism Awareness Month. That's right, October is Dwarfism Awareness Month so everyday this month I will be writing a post or creating a vlog or a little of both. Inspiration Wednesdays will not be a part of the daily posts so on Wednesday be on the look out for two posts not one. 

I am proud to be a dwarf, I truly am. While I'm not going to say that there are some days when I wish I was taller, or simply wish I wasn't a dwarf, I wouldn't trade my small body for anyone else's any day of the week. If I wasn't a little person, I wouldn't have LPA in my life, I probably wouldn't be an athletic trainer, I wouldn't have gone to Detroit, Brooklyn, Orlando, Nashville or DC for the best weeks in my life. I wouldn't have some of my best friends or my twin by my side and I certainly wouldn't be writing this blog. 

So what's in store for the next month? Posts about anything and everything whether it's a day in the life or something more serious, I'll write it. In the mean time, my challenge to you is to wear the color of Dwarfism Awareness Month which is green. Any shade of green is acceptable all I ask is that you wear it at least one day this month. Send me a picture of you in your green and I'll post it in a blog post. You can send them to me at jicurwin@gmail.com. 

Till tomorrow! 
-Jillian Ilana 

On a more serious note...

Hey y'all, so it's Thursday night and I have been going back and forth about writing this post. Clearly I decided to write it but I want to make it clear that I'm not attacking anyone or any group of people, that has never been or ever will be the aim of any blog post I write. I'm merely writing this blog to talk about my life experiences as a little person in an average sized world. That being said, I felt that this post was necessary just to shed a little light on a situation.

There are a lot of groups on Facebook, I'm sure all of you are in more than you realize, I know I am. One group in particular got attention from the little people community and not in a good way. The group was called "I Wish I Could Have A Midget For A Pet". Granted it was an old group that had not been updated in probably 3 years but the page should not have existed in the first place. There was a rallying cry to report the page and to get it off of Facebook as fast as possible and surprisingly we were met with delays. We got a reply saying that it was not going to be removed but our feelings were noted. Needless to say, the little people community was upset but that didn't stop us and as of when I last checked Facebook, the page no longer exists.

To report the page I had to go to the page and I was shocked at some of the things the creator had written. It hurt to know that there are people who feel that way about little people. I completely understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and can express that in any way they feel, but when comments were made asking to take it down because it was offensive, the page owner could not understand why people felt that way.

I understand that I was not personally attacked in the Facebook page but I am a little person and to see something like that hurt. If you agree with the person who made the page, you are more than welcome to your opinion, I will not look down on you any less as a person, I just hope that I along with the rest of the little people community can make you see that we are dwarves and we are people just the same.

Before I end the post, I just want to reiterate that it is not my to attack anyone not only in this post but in my blog as a whole. Thank you for reading!

-Jillian Ilana

Guess what day it is??

Yes, yes it's hump day but it is also inspiration Wednesday!! Today's inspiration is more well known, in fact if you don't know who he is I suggest you watch Underdog or subscribe to HBO ASAP. He has been nominated for several awards and has won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his work. Still don't know who he is? Today's inspiration has played iconic roles such as:  Miles Finch (Elf), Finbar McBride (The Station Agent), Dr. Simon Barsinister (Underdog), Captain Gutt (Ice Age: Continental Drift) and Tyrion Lannister (Game of Thrones). Still don't know? Okay, okay I'll tell you. Today's inspiration is Peter Dinklage. 

Peter Dinklage has been seen on the big and small screen since 1995, or since I've been born. In his 18 almost 19 year career, he has created iconic roles like the ones listed above and many others. But that's not why he's my inspiration. He's my inspiration because he proved to everyone that being a dwarf has no limits on what  a person can do. He's never accepted a role that has made fun of little people and is not afraid to speak out against wrongdoings towards the dwarf community. Don't believe me? Watch this. 

At the end of this speech he tells people to google Martin Henderson, a member of the dwarf community was the victim of a dwarf tossing incident. On one of the biggest nights of his career and as the "get off the stage" music starts to get louder he spreads awareness for little people. That is why he is my inspiration, not because of the roles he's played or the awards he's won, but for what he's done off screen.

Inspiration Wednesday

First of all, I want to give a birthday shout out to the tallest little brother a girl could ask for! He's a pain in my butt, even 1,000 miles away, but I still love him like crazy and would do just about anything for him. Hope you like your gift! And if you don't I don't want to hear about it ;).

Second of all, I want to give another birthday shout out to my madrina! Happy birthday! It's weird not being home to celebrate it with you but I hope its just as special.

Now onto the actual blog post. I think I want to do a weekly inspiration post and the only day I could think of was Wednesday. Why not right? So every Wednesday I'm going to post about someone or something that inspires me. They may be a LP, they may be an AP. Who knows? The point is I want to share with y'all what inspires me to be not only the best dwarf, but the best person I can be.

Today, I want to talk someone I don't think a lot of you know. She doesn't have a wikipedia page (yet), she's not listed as a star of any TV show or movie (yet) and she hasn't saved the world (yet). She has been through more than what anyone deserves to go through in an entire lifetime and she's only a high school senior. Yet you wouldn't know it. This girl is probably the craziest girl I know; she can make me laugh even before 7:00 a.m. on a monday morning and is not afraid to stand out. Every time I write a blog post she texts me saying how much I inspire her and the truth is she inspires me. She is one of the strongest girls I know and when I think I'm having a bad day, I think of her and I realize that if she can pull through what she deals with every day, I can get through whatever I have to get through. Her name? Her name is Michaela and she is one of my best friends.

Michaela (Kay, Kayla) has been through so much, it makes my life look like a walk in the park. But even on her bad days she still tries to make others happy. She always has something witty and hilarious to say and without fail she answers a text message almost instantly. Kayla inspires me to push through any struggles and to live each day to the fullest. Thanks for being one of my best friends Kay inspiring me everyday.

VLOG #3

I wanted to make another vlog...so I did 

-Jillian Ilana 

My scars...

There was a time in elementary school when I was afraid to wear shorts. I waited until the last possible day to pull a pair out of my closet to wear to school. I was afraid people would look, I didn't want people to question them, they were just another thing that made me stand out in an average sized world.  Now looking back, I realize how foolish I was. I have scars, in fact I have more scars now than I did back in elementary school. I don't try to hide them now, I wear shorts, dresses, bathing suits, etc. proudly. My scars are just a part of me.

The first set of visible scars I got when I was five years old. My right leg literally looked like the letter C it was so bowed. Bowed legs are common in dwarfs and are corrected through a procedure called an osteotomy. The specific osteotomy I received was on two bones that I don't remember the names of but they make up my calf. I received a cast, it was rainbow tie-dye and it was the most awesome cast ever made, and I wore that for a couple months. Once it was removed, I was left with four scars in my leg. Two of which were the result of the incisions made during the procedure. The other two resulted from a pin that was placed through my leg.

My second set came from my second osteotomy I received in seventh grade. A year before the surgery, I began complaining of left ankle pain. Every step was painful and three doctors, more braces than I can count and a boot, something had to be done. So instead of spending my thanksgiving with my extended family, I was in the hospital with a metal contraption that has a proper name but I will forever call it the ugly, metal, painful thingy sticking out of my leg. I wore this thing for a couple of months and I hated it. In the cast, I got a wheelchair and the uncomfortable part was that it was itchy. With ugly, metal, painful thingy I had to deal with cleanings which involved a lot of screaming, a lot of cursing and a lot of stinging (literally placing rubbing alcohol into an open wound). Yet even though I hated ugly, metal, painful thingy it did do its job and when it was removed I had no more pain. What I was left with were two scars left from incisions and four little holes where ugly metal thingy stuck out.

My scars remind me of my past and I'm proud of it. I wouldn't be the person I am today without the surgeries. I would rather have the scars than the pain any day of the week.

Toodles for now! Wish Tulane luck as we face off against LA tech tonight! Roll Wave!
-Jillian Ilana

A quick update

Hey y'all, long time no blog. I had an idea for what I wanted to write about in my next post but of course I forgot it. So until then I'll give you an update on my life and being a little person at Tulane.

As far as anyone can tell, including myself, I am the only dwarf at Tulane. That makes me feel special knowing that I am truly one of a kind here, but unfortunately it does have its downside. Saturday night, my friends and I went out to the frats and The Boot. While walking past this one frat, two girls pointed at me and said something along the lines of, "Look there's a midget....There's a midget on campus..." While walking, I turned around to look at them and said, "I can hear you," then walked away. We kept walking towards The Boot and as we moved to get in line, two guys pointed at me and said something along the lines of, "Look there's a midget...There's a midget on campus...Do you see the midget?..." Again I turned around to look at them and said, "I can hear you," then walked away. Needless to say that put me in a mood and I was at the point in the night when I just wanted to go back to my dorm. The night wasn't fun anymore so we did walk back a few minutes later after a quick stop at The Boot Store. When I told my friends what happened they immediately jumped to my defense and said that if that ever happened again to let them know and they'll back me up. So shout out to MO-10 for being the best floor ever!!

Aside from those people last night, people have treated me pretty normally. No one automatically assumes I can't do something because I'm little or acts like I'm a child because I'm the same size as one. Now that doesn't mean I still have moments where I feel invisible or left out but those moments are becoming more scarce and far between.

Classes are challenging but they're the kind of challenges I like facing head on. I thought I was crazy for wanting to take on Arabic and symbolic logic and intro to macroeconomics but I'm so happy I did. They are interesting and the professors make me want to learn.

I'm also loving Football! While waking up at 5:30 in the morning is a struggle, I'm learning a lot and the team is great. I am "one of the guys" in the sense that they don't consider any job for me too big because I am small. I can't wait for our first away game this Thursday as it will be my first time traveling with the team. Good luck boys!

Now how do I make this big campus a little smaller for me? It's been a bit of a challenge as there aren't stools in every room and a guidance counselor to take care of my issues with a simple phone call. It's been a lot of playing around and seeing what works and so far with the help of the Office of Disability Services, the changes we've made have been for the better. I am getting online textbooks or PDFs so I have to carry my computer instead of all my books with me from class to class and passes that allow me to be a few minutes late if and ONLY if those few minutes are necessary.

So that's my life so far at Tulane. I pinky swear my next post will be less about me in general and more about making this average sized world a little smaller.

Tasharrafna!
-Jillian Ilana

VLOG

Hey Y'all,
Here is my second vlog where I talk more about my first week at Tulane! Check it out!

-Jillian Ilana

Life Update

Shalom to all! I know, I know I haven't posted in a while so hopefully this post makes up for it. I just finished up my first week at Tulane and it's certainly been memorable.

There's an expression that life is like a roller coaster or something like that and that could not be more true, especially about my first week. There have been a lot of ups and downs and there were times that my downs were a lot lower than my highs were high. Being a little person, I feel like it's a lot harder to fit in socially into an average sized world. People can literally talk above me and not even realize I'm there. I know that I don't particularly look like a college freshmen and others do too so it feels like they don't treat me as one. Now I know a lot of this is most likely in my head but it's what I've felt throughout the past week. Thanks to help from my family (sorry for all the late night calls) I've been able to persevere and make the start of my Tulane experience a success.

I probably have one of the worst freshmen schedules ever seen, all 8 AMs, but that's okay considering football starts bright and early at 6:30. My classes are interesting, a lot of reading though (I actually should be doing that right now but clearly I'm sidetracked. But Mom I am reading and doing my work I swear). After class I usually get lunch: my go to lunch is edamame, a kashi bar and a fruit cup, YUM! Once I finish lunch, I'll try to find people or hang out in my room or go to the gym. My next post I'll talk about how a dwarf works out.

At night there have been frat parties where you walk into a house and it's packed and hot and loud. So far, every frat party I've been to hasn't disappointed :). When not at a frat, a typical night out in Tulane is at The Boot. The Boot was just voted the number one college bar in America and it lives up to its title, the line is always out the door and its always a good time.

Ask anyone about New Orleans and they automatically think of Bourbon Street and Mardi Gras and beads. Well yesterday, I got to experience two out of the three. Yesterday was Southern Decadence which is a gay pride festival and girls on my floor and I hopped on the bus and streetcar to see what it was all about. Music was blasting and everyone was loud and proud. We met a lot of interesting people, some wearing shoes bigger than me but they were FIERCE! Anyways, throughout the festival, people kept asking to take their pictures with me, pick me up, to be given as a gift and other outlandish things. Needless to say it got to the point where I felt uncomfortable. I have never been objectified to that extent and I just wanted to get out of the situation, so my friends and I did and we had the most interesting taxi driver in all of New Orleans.

Being a dwarf I know I stand out and I know I'm going to get unwanted attention from people, but dwarves aren't objects, we're people. It's hard to be treated like everyone else when I don't LOOK like everyone else but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop asking, I'm just going to ask louder.

So yeah I think that sums up my first week in The Big Easy. Oh and by the way I got the beads for blowing kisses and simply standing on the street, not doing the typical thing to get beads. If you don't know what that is, google it.

See y'all later!
-Jillian Ilana

College Life

Hey readers! Long time no post. I'm officially a college gal! I have a break in between classes so I thought I would post what I've been up to and stuff like that. Tulane has exceeded all expectations so far and I am literally loving every second of it.

Move in day was organized chaos. The dorm opened at 8 and we were here by 8:30. We pulled in, unloaded everything and dad went back to get everything we didn't bring which was basically our entire Bed Bath haul (the Bed Bath down here is insane, two floors and an escalator for your cart!). Once the car was unloaded, upperclassmen helped bring up everything while my mom and I walked up not one, not two, not 5 but 10 flights of stairs. The first time I did it I was like that was easy, the fifth time I was completely eating my words. At least I know that if I can't make it to the gym I can still get some exercise in :). Anyhoo, after a day of unpacking, organizing, stressing, and a little bit of tears, I finally finished moving in. I'll post pics below.

Classes started on Monday and lucky me, I have all 8 AMs. So everyday I'm up by 7 at the latest. All my classes are interesting and I'm excited to see what the semester brings :).

So how does a dwarf navigate around this big campus? A lot of tylenol, a lot of endurance, a little bit of fear and comfy shoes. I've been on time so far and haven't gotten lost yet, but my legs are paying the price. I've woken up every day feeling sore so children's, yes CHILDREN'S tylenol has been my best friend. I take children's tylenol because I know the dosage and there's no uncertainty with taking too many.

At night I've gone out, doing the typical college thing, and my body gets tired long before my brain does so it's all about pacing myself but most importantly...having a good time.

That's all for now I have to get ready for class, but I'll update again. Maybe with a video? Hmmm....

Farewell!
-Jillian Ilana

What do you want to know?

Bonjour y'all! So I'm all moved in at Tulane and I'm loving every minute so far. Mom hasn't cried...yet... and nothing was broken :). I'll insert pics of my room and how I adapted things around here in my next post but what I want to know is... What do YOU want to know? I'm writing this blog for you, the readers. So comment on this post or tweet me or comment on facebook what questions you would like answered and I'll post my answers in the next post.

Auf Wiedersen!
-Jillian Ilana

Vlog- New Orleans bound

Hey blog readers! So hopefully this worked, this is my first time making a Vlog so all fingers crossed! Enjoy and until next post!
-Jillian Ilana

Last few moments in Jersey

The time has come, tomorrow at 3 am I'll be waking up and heading towards the airport with a one way ticket to New Orleans. Words cannot begin to explain how excited I am to start this new chapter in my life. New school, new friends, new opportunities, I can't wait! Today was a whirlwind of last minute shopping and goodbyes and endless phone calls from my mom telling me to come home. By the way I want to give a shout out to the best mother in the world, Audrey! She was up at 6 A.M. (which if you know my mother, waking up at 6 is totally normal for her) and she packed and repacked all day. I love her in more words than I can write in this post. 

My clothes are all packed, everything is ready at Bed Bath and Beyond for me to pick up and all that's left to do is get on that plane. Since we have to leave the house at 4 to make it to the airport by 5 I made my last Wawa stop until Thanksgiving. If you don't know what Wawa is, it is basically 711 but a gazillion times better. 

I asked my mom if she ever thought this day would come and she said she knew it would, but there was a time when she didn't think I would be going so far away. She didn't think I could, being a little person, but she's so proud of me that I'm proving her wrong (one of the only times, by the way, that she said I am allowed to). And honest to goodness, I shared her doubts. I didn't think I would be able to move 1,000 miles away, with no little people connections in the area and have a "normal" college experience. But I'm ready. BRING IT ON! 

Tomorrow I'll update as I make my way to New Orleans, maybe I'll vlog...who knows? 

Good night, sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite! 

-Jillian Ilana 

Fitting in a world that is too tall, too big, too...EVERYTHING

This world is not made for little people, it's just not. So there are certain things I have to do in order to make everyone's world MY world.

These here are my pedal extenders, one gas and one brake. They are screwed onto my car's actual pedals. I drive an elantra and even with the seat moved all the way up, the extenders are necessary. These pedal extenders can be unscrewed and put onto a different car as long as they fit. What I didn't take a picture of is my seat; I sit on a small pillow and behind me is a larger, fatter pillow that supports my back. 

This is my shower head. The lower head is the one I use and can be moved to different heights as needed. The reason for a lower shower head is so that I can take it off to have more control of where the water is going. Before I got the new shower head, it was a lot harder to reach certain areas and make sure that they were clean. It also comes in handy when cleaning the shower too. 

A sideways sink? What?! Yupp in my downstairs bathroom and in my upstairs bathroom my sinks are sideways. This was done a long time ago and it was so I could reach the faucet even when on a stool. So don't say I didn't warn you if you ever come over and use my bathroom. 

THE STOOL! Without stools in my house I would most likely be in the hospital 24/7 from falling off shelves trying to reach something. The stepstools in my house help me reach literally EVERYTHING. From food in my refrigerator to my favorite pair of jeans to the kitchen sink to do the dishes. And no I don't have three stools in my house, I probably have like 5. There should be a warning label on my stools telling you that they will sneak up on you out of nowhere and cause you to stub your toes or trip over them. 

Yes those are two wooden sticks and yes they are hooked into my light switches. This lovely adaptation is only in my room, for reasons I don't understand cause there are light switches in my house I still can't reach on flat feet and these were put in when I was five. These handy dandy sticks allow me to turn my lights and fan on and off. Now that I have exceed 3 feet tall I don't necessarily need them but I use them still every time. 

So yeah, those are a few things I have to adapt this world to make it one that I can fit in. It may look strange but to me it's just a part of being a dwarf in an average sized world. 

Sayonara!

-Jillian Ilana 

LPA?

I always talk to my friends about LPA and they give me this look like, "We're not little, what does LPA mean?" LPA stands for Little People of America. It's an organization for little people or dwarfs across America. LPA expands across the country and welcomes international members into its community as well. LPA is divided into districts which is made up of several states. I'm from district 2 which is New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Twice a year, districts will host a regional convention where the district comes together for a weekend to learn, make new friends, and have a good time. Then once a year there is a national convention where all of LPA is invited for a week in a city whether it's DC, Orlando, New York, Detroit, etc. to meet new people, talk to doctors, etc, but there is more. LPA gives us Little People to be the "norm" for a weekend or a week. It is indescribable, the feeling of walking into a hotel where no one is staring at you and you just blend into the crowd. 

Without LPA I wouldn't have this network of little people who know what I'm going through everyday and can offer advice and assistance on how to adapt this big world so I can fit in it. 

In my past 18 years friends have changed, my surroundings have changed, I have certainly changed, but LPA has always been a constant in my life and always will be. 

A bientot!

-Jillian Ilana 

The Dwarf in the Dirt

The dwarf in the dirt? What could that possibly mean? The dwarf in the dirt is the title of an episode of Bones. For those of you who don't know, Bones is a crime scene drama. I stumbled upon this episode yesterday and I couldn't finish it. Long story short, the word midget was used several times and "midget wrestling" was featured. Needless to say I changed the channel as fast as I could.
Being a little person in an average sized world I'm used to the stares, the pointing fingers and the questions. I'll always stand out and I'm okay with it. BUT...one thing I cannot tolerate and I don't think I'll ever be used to is hearing the word midget. Midget is offensive to dwarves and is one of those words that simply shouldn't be said. The proper term for someone like me is dwarf or simply a little person.
I understand things are said for entertainment, but there is a line and it should not be crossed.
So what happens if you come across a little person in the mall or on the street or at school and you don't know what to do or what to say? Just ask. I would rather someone ask me a gazillion and one questions about being a dwarf than to make judgments before getting to know me.

The moral of this post: Don't say midget. Just don't it's wrong.

Au revoir!
-Jillian Ilana

On a more serious note...

My last two posts have been about shopping but now I want to talk about dwarfism. If you go to WebMD and search dwarfism, they will tell you that dwarfism is a "condition of short stature". LPA or The Little People of America define dwarfism as: "an adult height of 4'10" or shorter as the result of a medical or genetic condition". Dwarves are either proportionate or disproportionate. Proportionate means that all the body parts are proportional to each other while disproportionate dwarves have shorter arms and legs but an average sized torso.

As of today, there are over 200 types of dwarfism, the most common being achondroplasia. Other common types are diastrophic dysplasia and spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia. Dwarfism is caused by a genetic mutation. Some conditions are recessive genes while others are dominant.

Being a dwarf, medical problems are common and expected. Ear infections, shunts to relieve pressure on the brain, removal of tonsils and adenoids, leg straightening to correct bowing.
Personally, I have had more ear infections than I can remember, 3 sets of tubes, my tonsils and adenoids removed and both legs straightened. I cannot walk as fast as my friends, my legs tire more easily and I have scars on my legs to serve as a constant reminder of what I've been through. These past 18 years haven't been easy but I wouldn't have had it any other way. The scars on my legs from my surgeries prove just how strong I am, I can diagnose an ear infection in under 10 minutes and my friends will always wait for me.

Good night or good morning depending on when you're reading this
-Jillian Ilana

Lets talk shoes

Shoes. As Carrie Bradshaw would say, you can never own too many pairs of shoes. While I will never ever own a shoe closet like Carrie, I do share her love for shoes. High heels, flats, sneakers, wedges, I love them all but it's very hard to find the perfect fit. Like the rest of me, my feet are short, a size 4 or 5. You walk into a normal shoe store and it's extremely likely the smallest size their shoes come in are a 6 or made for little kids. Sometimes that's not a bad thing, kid's shoes are cheaper and if the shoe fits wear it :). The hardest shoes for me to find are boots and heels. I'm the first to call myself a klutz so I know I'm not the best walker in high heels but a girl needs a good pair of heels that actually fit. Boots are even harder to find. I'm in love with the combat boot trend and I have been on a non stop search for them but most of the time they're either too big (again I will never be a size 6) or they go up too high. Having shorter legs means shorter calves and thighs so what would be a mid calf boot usually goes up to my knees or even higher. Now that doesn't mean I can never wear boots or heels and walk around in sneakers and flats all the time. I do have a couple pairs of high heels and as recently as 20 minutes ago just acquired my first and probably only pair of combat boots.

Now where do I find these shoes? My local shoe supplier is Traffic shoes. They always have shoes for good deals and what I love about them is that they always display their smallest size available in each style. That makes shopping for me a little bit easier because I don't have to constantly ask if they come in my size, I simply have to look at the shoe. Of course that doesn't mean that every shoe comes in a size 5, more often than not I'll leave without seeing a single pair of shoes in my size that I like. The second store is Nordstrom. You know you buy your shoes at Nordstrom when almost all the shoe department guys know you buy name and your shoe size. When I go shoe shopping in there I tell them what type of shoe I'm looking for (heel, boot, flat, sneaker, etc.) in every size 4 or 5. I'm shocked if they come out with more than 7 boxes of shoes for me to try. 9 times out of 10 I find a pair that fit, are cute and I can walk in them pretty well (again I'm a klutz so that just means I know I definitely won't break anything while wearing them). Nordstrom does have expensive shoes so I always try to find the sales and deals but if I have to splurge, I will if the shoes are ones that I can wear a lot and I'm absolutely out of options.

Below are the new pair of boots I just got today. What I really love about them is that you can undo the buckle and wrap the strap around the boot in any way you want. I was nervous when I first held them up to my leg as I thought they would be too high but they are right under my knee and they don't dig in.  They will be perfect with a pair of shorts or leggings or jeans.

Toodles for now!
-Jill
*Disclaimer- I was not asked to promote Nordstrom or Traffic. I am merely stating my opinion about shoes.

Shopping Adventures

Shopping is a sport, but shopping for college is a marathon. It seems my shopping list is never ending and the route to the mall is now as travelled as the route to school. Today was no different. 

I will be the first to admit that shopping isn't easy, especially clothes shopping. Things are just always too long or too big and there are moments where it seems that nothing can fit. I've learned that lengths are never finite; pants, dresses and shirts can always be altered. 

Shopping for pants are the worst. Having short legs supporting an average sized body, finding a pair of pants that fit and are proportional and fashionable is like Goldilocks trying to find the perfect pot of porridge. The only difference is that Goldilocks didn't have to pay for her porridge whereas clothes cost money. These pants are from express and as you can see they extend past my feet. They fit around the waist and were comfortable yet the proportion was off. There are leather panels on the thighs which looked adorable on the five foot mannequin but on my legs they just took up room. So no leather pants for me.

 These are a pair of black jeggings, also from Express. As you can see these are even longer than the first pair of pants but I ended up buying these because they fit everywhere else and I can easily get the pants hemmed. If I tried to find a pair of pants that were the perfect length, fit my waist and were not found in the children's department I would never own a pair of pants. It's all about taking what I can find and channeling my inner Tim Gunn to "make it work".

These are the same pants from above just from the side to show exactly how long the pants are.





















These final pair of jeans were the most surprising. When jeans don't have stretch in them I usually have to go up a size simply because they have to fit over my dwarf booty. Yet when I tried on the larger pair they were too big so I had to go down a size and freaked out in the dressing room when they fit. Finding a pair of distressed or embellished jeans is hard because a lot of the time I'll find a pair of pants that have the details on the bottom part that would end up getting cut off in the hemming process. I was lucky that the distressing was throughout the jeans and the majority of the details would not be cut off. I had to get them. Who doesn't love a good boyfriend jean?








My shopping adventures today were successful but that doesn't always happen. I would be lying if I've said I haven't left the mall without shedding tears, yelling and/or walking out with nothing. Days like that will always happen but it's pushing forward to days like today that proves that I am like every other 18 year old girl and I can shop for clothes. I'll post images of me in these pants once I get them hemmed to show the difference.

Ta-ta for now!
-Jillian Ilana

Hello!

Hi! My name is Jillian (Jill) Ilana. I'm a normal teenage girl getting ready to start at Tulane University in a couple of weeks. I hang out with friends, go shopping, basically everything any other 18 year old girl does. Yet I know people will take one look at me and think that I can't and that's okay. I know I don't fit the profile of a typical 18 year old girl. In the simplest terms I am a little person. I am 4 feet tall on a good day and I'm 100% confident I'm not getting any taller. But I wouldn't be the person I am if I was even an inch taller.

I'm writing this blog to share a different view of the world we all live in. The view is different when you're shorter than everyone else. I'll talk about clothes I buy, daily struggles and other things that come to mind.

So that's me and this is my blog. Enjoy reading!
-Jillian Liana