A woman standing at 6ft 4" has told of how she has embraced dating other women after finding men are too threatened by her height.
Van Essa, a 23-year-old student from Iserlohn, Germany, wears a UK shoe size 10 and has a 42 inch inseam.
Van has been the tallest in her class since she can remember, even overtaking the teachers in Year Seven. While she doesn't come from an overly tall family, she believed she had inherited her father's genes, who was 6ft 2".
Despite having experienced bullying in her childhood Van's height has made her a confident and outgoing person and she believes it's what makes her unique.
"I realised I was different even when I was young, I was always tall, even in nursery school. I remember towering over a lot of teachers in only Year Seven," she said.
"I am six feet four inches tall, the factors which led to my height was the genetics I got from my father. He was as tall as me but is now a little shorter because of the shrinking that comes with age.
"My sisters and my mother are all normal heights."
"I had a hard time growing up because even people out of my family thought that was abnormal and not acceptable. I also experienced bullying a little," she said.
"When I was younger, dating was more difficult because I was only looking for men who were taller than me in a small town it's not that easy.
"But over the years it became less important to me and I also moved so dating is not a problem anymore."
She had now come to believe that her height was one of her "strengths". She was pansexual and said that women often love her height.
"I definitely wouldn't be that confident, outgoing or enjoy that much attention if I was shorter," she added.
"Much of my life is normal. I still find shoes easily in the shoe shop. However, pants are always too short for me so sometimes a tailor makes them longer or I just wear them a little cropped."
Van said she had been called hurtful things like "giant" but tried to take them as compliments.
As someone with a lot of positive experiences of being tall, Van she has this advice to share for those who may not have yet found the confidence with their height.
"A great advantage to my height is being taken seriously. Also being able to take a walk at night with less fear. Reaching everything without a ladder. It's a great conversation starter and I also have a very small fan base which feels great.
"If you do not yet feel confident about your height just surround yourself with tall people and talk about it. Seeing the beauty in other people is sometimes easier," she said.
"You may see the beauty in being tall in other people and can transfer it to yourself. Also, fake it till you make it."
