Hello. My name is Harshiv, and I stutter.
I mainly enjoy sports and videogames. I enjoy just about any sport in which locomotion is not the only goal, which rules out track and field, but I am fine with swimming (I avoid sweating!). As for videogames, I generally like games in the action-packed genres of battle royale and RPG. I am incredibly competitive, and I guess that’s why I like playing games so much in sports, and in real life. And now that I think about it, that could also be how I came this far with improving my stuttering.
I don’t remember when exactly my stuttering started, but it got a lot better quite quickly. As of now, I am comfortable with speaking in groups of any size, especially when I know, at least roughly, what I am going to be talking about. This gives my mind a head-start on my speech. This means that sometimes, rather than actually blocking, I catch myself and try to let my mind catch up with my speech (I am a relatively fast talker).
For a long time, I was unaware of my drive, but I learnt a lot from my teacher. I tried out lots of stuttering modification/prevention strategies, such as easy start, robot voice, stop and slide, as well as simple things like speaking with lungs full of air. These helped a lot, but I think (immodesty) the reason I came this far was because of a different, rather strange reason: the need to compete with the other person to get more words out.
Luckily, I never really got bullied or patronized for stuttering, but I empathize with those who do. I am willing to meet people and talk to them, and this was a strong branch in my growing tree of fluency. At first, I was hesitant to have a prolonged conversation, but I got more and more comfortable with talking until my stutter was barely noticeable. This may mean I need to employ filler words and phrases to fill in the otherwise awkward.
Now, of course, all of this isn’t to say stuttering is a bad thing. It’s a part of my life that I can’t control, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s harmful. In fact, many famous people had, and still have, a stutter. They are famous because they do great in jobs that involve lots of communication.
So, never let stuttering be the wall between you and your dreams. I know I wouldn’t, and I know you shouldn’t.
Harshiv, 14, Singapore/London 29
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