I can relate in the fact that I put myself in confronting situations as much as possible and realised that I should probably do something with my life instead of holding back because of my stutter. I've become a whole new person this last year and I love my life. You are so right in saying the confidence you earn is valuable and even if I do stutter, it doesn't bring my confidence down at all. Most importantly be yourself but anyone can do what we've done. I'm only at uni right now but who knows what I'll be doing in a couple years.