Stuttering Stan

September 9, 2017: Overcome

Stan’s stutter often stopped him from realizing his potential. He would watch his classmates in the debate club argue over issues that mattered to him. Issues of justice, equity and social welfare. He watched from afar, resigning his own participation, held back by his stutter. He stuck to listening, passively and helplessly. When his friends would talk about girls, Stan would timidly step back, knowing that his stutter added too much pressure for his courage to handle – approaching her was already hard enough.

When he saw his ideological opponent win the debate competition, when he learned his friend asked out his crush, and when he realized his life would only continue this way, Stan set out to make a change. He began to meditate. He began to practice speaking more often, despite the laughs and awkward looks. He began to accept himself. He slowed his thoughts down.

He practiced day and night, night and day until he overcame. He still stuttered, but not like before. The difference for Stan, he realized, was that he was not at peace with himself. He wanted to be like the others around him. In the end, Stan overcame his stutter by being himself.