So, yeah, I definitely knew and understood that there were going to be a bunch of eyes on me.
I just kept reminding myself that every day I make it on this beach, every tribal council I survived, that means there are that many more people who get to watch me and hear more of my story.
Growing up as a person who stutters I never saw someone who spoke like me, who was ever portrayed in a positive way or just a neutral one. I just wanted to show other people that I am a person who stutters, but there is so much more to me than the fact that I sometimes have a hard time communicating. I am incredibly competitive, and I love competing, and I love building relationships with people, and I love telling stories, and I am so much more than just a person who stutters.
THE VIRAL MOMENT
When I was out there and I began talking about what had been happening the last few days, I really didn't think I was stuttering that much in that moment. So, when Jeff brought it up, I was super thankful because it created a moment for me to just naturally talk about the most helpful practices for me as a person who stutters.
I really didn't want to openly talk about stuttering too much in front of everyone because I didn't want it to be a reason for people to want to vote me out because it was this huge thing that, ‘oh, my gosh, he stutters, and he has a great story.’ I just wanted to keep it as chill as possible. But I am super thankful for that moment because it did get me an opportunity to openly have this conversation with everyone I was playing with at the exact same time.
I got to share that with 4.8 million people who were watching. And I hope that that moment was able to create other conversations that people felt comfortable enough to ask their friends, family or coworkers who stutter about the best way for them to feel supported.
Ultimately that moment was huge. The amount of people who reached out to me afterwards, whether it was other people who stutter or teachers and coaches, so many people were really appreciative of me just openly having that conversation. I hope that conversation will continue to be used to show others the importance of openly asking what other people need for them to feel comfortable and successful.
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