Dear reader,
Welcome to the Stamily. Even if you do not stutter, we still welcome you 😉
My name is Vinnie. Born November 1994 in that little, complicated country called Belgium. I started stuttering aged 7 and it got bad after high school. I had the tendency to lock myself up in my room with all my troubles, isolating myself from others. When I became 18, I decided that I wanted to change myself. I started going to film school and pursued studies in sociology afterwards. By focusing on my interests, I hoped to be able to connect more with others and lift myself from the vicious cycle of loneliness. While the road is still long, this worked wonders. Growth in speaking is all about growth as a person.
As you grow older, you start understanding that everyone is fighting his or her fears and demons. They are just not always related to speech. Realising that everyone has struggles made me more able to deal with my own and motivated me to start taking better care of myself. I used to fret about not being able to speak in my natural rhythm (which is extremely fast). Now, I appreciate the need to take it slow. I am a strong advocate for positive thinking. There are always two sides to the same coin. Recognize which side is constructive, and use that one. The other side is still there, but it will not be able to hurt you.
Writing is something that helped me. Aged 15, I started doing online reviews. This love for writing has continued and recently I have been more inclined to write about my speech. When the words do not come out of your mouth that easily, they sure as hell come from the pen.
What I really want is that people just connect. Loneliness is a killer and the saddest thing is that it is preventable. It just takes some time to listen and little acts of bravery to speak up. Especially as people with a stutter, we must understand that speaking time is scarce, and that we must appreciate it. Words change worlds.
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