> You know what? That could even be true! I am super shy and not open enough and it's all BECAUSE OF my stutter! I would be a completely different person if it weren't for my stutter! This is my reality as well. So many missed opportunities, so many reservations about otherwise fun or profound developments in my life. There's a lot of negativity brooding there, on many levels. Its a double-edged sword. If you wouldn't date yourself, you can't blame the girl (I know you don't, but just saying), especially if she tries to be considerate and let you down easy like that. Even when you both know that being more confident would still render you incompatible. I feel like all we can do is work on ourselves, and try our best not to let our insecurity get the better of us. I think maintaining confidence in the face of self-imposed embarrassment is ultimately more attractive than being rightfully embarrassed, shy, apologetic, and still clinging to a hope that some woman is going to look through all that which you can't look through yourself. Overcoming our adversity will get us closer to where we're trying to be. To paraphrase a great quote from my favorite books, Control what you can - you'll still get shot at, and when you go down, go down guns blazing.