Stutter Analysis

I used to stutter. I used to stutter to the point where it was impossible for me to express all of the thoughts that raced vigorously my mind. I used to stutter in brief bursts that made my words incomprehensible and incited unusual stares from those I attempted to speak to. When I was younger, my quirk resulted in many obstacles that hindered me in day-to-day life. From speaking on the phone, to ordering in restaurants, to speaking in class, I had an extremely difficult time verbally communicating my ideas and thus, found myself often feeling frustrated and defeated. While I never allowed for my stutter to define me, it was crippling in that it diminished any motivation that I had when it came to reading and writing. My stutter not only hampered

While my stutter gradually and eventually disappeared, my hostility towards those subjects did not. It was not until my sophomore year of high school, that my perspective shifted, and I slowly began to refine my skills as a critical reader and writer. At first, however, I had some difficulty. The class that I had taken that year primarily focused on the essays and presentations—my two biggest nightmares. In the past, I had always had trouble with essays. I found that my essays were always a jumble of words that moved in circles as a result of my inability to express and more importantly, condense all of the ideas that lived in my brain. What I could not say, I wrote, and my wordiness in my essays forced me to recognize the significance of finding a balance. The presentation aspect of the class, however, churned my stomach even more. How could I possibly get up in front of my peers and speak comprehensively and analytically, if I did not even have the ability to perform simple verbal tasks, like ordering lunch, in the past? Thus, the mere idea of this class left me apprehensive and

This class, while seemingly trivial on it’s face, suddenly transformed into a real test of my ability to do what those around me took for granted--the ability to read, write, and speak. Essays were plentiful and therefore, I found myself coming in during my free periods and after school to seek guidance from my teacher. Little by little, I worked to fix the errors that restricted me from producing a meaningful essay, and was able to develop my own style. More importantly, I was able to find my own voice in writing. The true test, however, was yet to come, and I intent on doing whatever I could to do well on my presentations. When I was not in class, I kept myself busy by reading books out loud. I cannot even begin to recall the countless number of times that I recited excerpts from Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games in my bedroom. While I no longer had issues with stuttering, I was consistently told that I spoke too quickly. As a result, I practiced whenever I could, and fortunately, my efforts at home allowed me to hone in on my communication skills. My endeavors at home proved to be beneficial as I noticed throughout the year, that it became more and more easy to speak in front my classroom. Towards the end of the year, a strange sensation would overwhelm me every time I raised my