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