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.
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.
For most of my life, celebrate was the last word I would associate with stuttering and definitely the last thing I wanted to do in terms of my stutter.