I had problems growing up. I had a sudden growth spurt at 15 or 16, and I got a lot of injuries as a result. I gained all this muscle, and my bones couldn't cope. I used to get so tired.
I can understand why people laugh and make jokes, but I'm comfortable with being this tall. It's not as if I've had a sudden growth spurt. I've always been like this, so I get used to the constant height references.
I was quite small; then I had a big growth spurt that led to a problem with my back, which stopped me playing for a while. My bones were growing too quick for my weight.
I never had problems with injuries as a kid or in the youth team. My injuries started at Chelsea, when I broke my foot during a pre-season game. That was just pure bad luck, but after that, I had some muscular injuries, too, so I had to get to know my body better.
A lot is made of my injuries and yes, I've had niggles and muscle problems. Some managers haven't picked me, and my form has played a part at times as well.
I was always small. I was a leadoff hitter growing up, until I was 13 or 14 years old and had a little growth spurt and started hitting home runs.
In a way, I had a very good and normal childhood. I had loving and caring parents. But I had a lot of quirks or problems when I was growing up. I had phobias and obsessions.
When I was growing up, I cheered and danced and ran and stuff like that. I'm probably thinner now than I was in high school. I had a lot of muscle - a lot of muscle in high school.
When I was 16 was just thinking about the future and - it sounds so stupid - but what my goal was going to be in life. I guess I was thinking about girls too. No girls liked me. That was bothering me. I was thinking about my height - I had a growth spurt right before high school and then that's when sports coaches started coming up to me, but that's when I had this artistic turn.
Growing up, my uncle used to always have dogs, and we always had a dog growing up. I couldn't remember a time when I never had a dog. It was part of the family. So once I actually got old enough, I got a dog in college, then I felt he needed a friend, so I got another dog. They just started adding up from there.
I had injuries - even when I was younger, I had problems with my back. I had to grow up very fast.
You get depressed because you're like, 'Everybody's working and I'm here sitting.' I feel for all gymnasts who get hurt. Injuries are just awful, but at least I had 'Bones' to work on when I wasn't training. It got my mind off the fact that I couldn't do anything.
As a kid, I mostly played as a No 10. When I was really young, I played as a striker. But I grew a lot when I was older, and when I was 15, 16, I had a big growth, and so I changed a little bit and became slower.
By the time I was, you know, 16 years old, I had done a lot of growing up.
I had parties in church halls. My mama knew people that had venues and all that, and I knew a lot of people from forever. I was always popular growing up. She used to get me the spots, and I used to have parties. Probably about 300, 400 people.
I did not have implants, I just had a growth spurt.
A lot of our fiscal deficit went to fund consumption and really did not get used to build investment and infrastructure. The trouble is, you can get a spurt in GDP growth, which may not be sustainable. I would much rather build the gradient of a long-term marathon.