Small Hands

I have hated my hands ever since I was a teenager. They are probably my least favourite body part, and I feel unbearably self conscious whenever any attention is drawn to them. They are small - when I was taking piano lessons, they can barely stretch an octave - and in my view, deeply unmanly hands. My fingers are fat too. As I type this, I am looking at them with fresh disgust.

Since I have starting climbing though, I’ve noticed that I feel more confident on certain holds than others - small ones, with edges just a few milimetres wide. A lot of people really don’t like these, but for me, they have become my favourite kind of hold, and I feel strong on them. It is of course, because my short, stubby fingers fit nicely, and I can pull hard on them.

I still hate how my hands look. But I’m glad that they now have a redeeming feature.