Little people, big moves.
Dominique Longmore keeps everyone in check
THEY ARE shorter than the average person, but their height is no reflection of what they have done and are able to do. Journey with us for the next few weeks as we catch up with our little people, learn more about their lives and inspire hope across the world.
Our little person this week is no ordinary lady, she is a firecracker and a boss in her own way. From the crudest of personalities to the humblest, Dominique Longmore knows how to deal with them all, effortlessly, a trait she says she has mastered over the years.
Stepping through the doors of the Mandeville Court’s Office, you may hear her before you see her, giving out instructions and helping those in need of the office’s services go through the process as smoothly as possible.
Don’t take her kindness for weakness or treat her as a child with special needs and you will be just fine in her presence, she says.
“I’m very outspoken, very jovial, very fun-loving, but serious when it comes to family and money ... I am selfless.”
Offering some insight into her formative years, Longmore said it was her mother who made her so confident.
“Growing up, my life was not hard, from the time my mother found out I was an Achondroplasia dwarf, short in joints with a normal torso. My mother made sure I was very confident, she never hid me, she took me everywhere, being who she was made me more confident,” Longmore told The Gleaner.
And by confident she means also giving those who are rude to her a full tongue-lashing, most times in a capsule of decency.
“Sometimes you will be at an event with friends and people will just walk up to you and take your picture wid one bag a excitement and shout ‘SHAWTY!!!’ at the top of their voices, and I have to let them know I’m short, not deaf,” said Longmore.
PEOPLE’S APPROACH
She added: “Let’s just say how an encounter turns out is dependent on how people approach me, some of them you really have to check. A man will come up to me and start talking about the fact that he has never had sex with a dwarf and he wants to try.”
The 29-year-old said once people are curious and positive, they can be her friends, but once they are disrespectful, it will not work out.
“There are perks to being a little shorter than the average. I get a lot of attention, but really I don’t like a lot of attention, but yes, there are perks, people will look out for you and stuff like that.” This pocket rocket said among the things she looks forward to is being able to care for and provide for her son. “Yes, my son is four and he is average height with a curious mind and wisdom greater than his years. I remember when he was able to talk and he started school, he would say, ‘Mommy you are small, but I love you’ ... I try to explain the basics to him and I know he’ll understand it all eventually.”
She revealed that for the next few years, she hopes to be in a higher position and/or the owner of her business.
“I started working here (court’s office) with the NYS (National Youth Service) programme before coming on staff fully. I like my job and I try to do what I am assigned to the best of the ability in the environment and with the resources provided, but I am a go-getter and I always see myself doing more,” Longmore said.
HER ADVICE
She further mentioned: “I want to start my own business or get a higher position not just for myself, but also for my son and my family because my family has always been there for me. The grace of God inspires me, apart from my son; I am convinced it is the grace of God that gets me up in the morning.”
Filled with ideas and potential, Longmore had some advice for people who are far from average.
“You were born different, there is nothing you can do to change it even though you wish you weren’t, because sometimes when I am dealt with a bad hand, when people talk down to me figuratively and literally and underestimate me, it gets upsetting. But my advice to people like me is, don’t try to fight every battle, just try to survive and hold your head above the water ... not everyone grew up to be confident, but you were born unique, work with it,” she charged.