Blogs

Growing up, my parents instilled in me that eye contact was a sign of respect I should give every person I talk to and to every person talking to me.

I stood in front of a mirror in the girls' bathroom at school staring at myself, wishing that my mouth and lips would form words correctly, instead of tripping over them.

I'm a person who stutters and for most of my life I thought that meant living life in isolation. I thought no one else understood what it was like when words emerged distorted from my mouth, some with extra syllables and others with elongated vowels.

My stutter is something that has been a part of my life since I can remember. It’s brought a lot of embarrassment and social anxiety surrounding it. However, it’s also brought a lot of individuality and compassion to my life.

I have never thought of stuttering as a gift, but maybe it is.

“I want you to stand out. I want all of you, to be as different as you can possibly be, in all the best ways.”

Going back to speech therapy was one of the best things I’ve ever done

Growing up, I was fortunate enough to go to school with a group of kids who rarely picked on me because I stuttered. I know other people who stutter who were not as fortunate.

Just when I thought I had seen all the crazy examples of how misunderstood stuttering is, something more outrageous has come along!

After all this time, I’ve come to terms with stuttering and I’ve found peace with my thoughts, with words, with writing.