I'm Not Hiding Anymore (Rob Bloom)

"I'm not hiding anymore"

By Rob Bloom

I stutter. I always have. In fact, I can remember being three years old and trying very hard to push out the word 'd-d-daddy.'

When it became apparent that I was not going to 'grow out of it,' I decided I would do whatever it took to keep my shameful stuttering a secret from the world. And thus began a life of substituting words, avoiding sounds, and quite frankly, living in fear.

I hid my stuttering throughout college, often taking drastic means to do so ' from claiming to have laryngitis to giving a fake name when meeting new people. Sure, I was successful in lying to the world'but the truth was catching up with me: in the form of a stomach ulcer.

After graduation, I took a job writing for an advertising agency where I continued to portray the role of a fluent speaker on the outside. But despite professional success and recognition, I could barely look at myself in the mirror. When the economy slumped and my job was eliminated, I had the opportunity to do a little soul-searching. It was then that I had a startling realization: I needed to stop hiding.

I forced myself to face my fears directly. One way I did this was to do the very thing that scared me more than anything else: stuttering. I walked into situations and intentionally stuttered. Although agonizingly difficult at first, I slowly began to desensitize myself to the behavior. In addition, I joined Toastmasters where I willingly stood before a group of people and spoke. Did I stutter? Of course. But I also proved to myself that I was much more than the behavior of stuttering and even came to realize that I actually enjoy public speaking.

In opening up about stuttering, I've discovered the stigma and fears that I've based my life around die a little bit more with each passing day. I've also accepted the fact that, yes, I do stutter. I now know that if I stutter, my arms aren't going to fall off and my head isn't going to spin around. I'm just going to'well'stutter. And while this may always be the case, I now realize that there are much more important things to focus on.

Rob Bloom is a humor writer who has stuttered his entire life. In addition to his humor column, Rob has written for the Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, and National Public Radio. You can read some of Rob's work at his Web site,
www.robbloom.com.

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CELEBRITY FOCUS

Mel Tillis

Mel Tillis, born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, was an influential figure in country music, both as a songwriter and a performer. His journey to fame was marked by overcoming personal challenges, including a stutter that he turned into a defining part of his public persona.

Bill Withers

While Bill Withers has long been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter, many people probably didn’t realize he stuttered. He passed away on March 30, 2020.

Born in 1938 in Slab Fork, W.V., Withers was the youngest of six children. When his father died when Withers was small, he was raised by his mother and grandmother, both of whom worked as domestics.

Frank Wolf

This Virginian congressman has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1981. The longtime supporter of the Stuttering Foundation drew national attention to childhood stuttering in 2006 when he submitted an article about Tiger Woods from the SFA newsletter to the Congressional Record. The congressman is featured in the Stuttering Foundation's Famous People Who Stutter brochure.

James Earl Jones

Actor James Earl Jones, a Broadway, television and movie star, is well-known for his voice as Darth Vader in Star Wars and his book Voices and Silences. Jones has spoken some of the most memorable lines in the history of American film, but the man known for his voice was once afflicted with a severe stutter.

Darren Sproles

Darren Sproles, a former player for The Philadelphia Eagles, the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers, made history in 2007 when he became the first player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt for his first two NFL touchdowns in the same game. In 2021, he was selected to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.