Being a PWS (Person who stutters) felt like a horrible curse growing up, but I can say at 28 years old that stuttering feels almost more like a right of passage. You have to overcome such a public disorder that causes anxiety inducing situations on the DAILY and then almost no one in your immediate life is going to understand it. Even though it is technically “lonely” try not to feel that way. You’re a lone wolf that people love but sadly they won’t understand what you have to go through. Perhaps not a popular opinion, but sometimes it’s best to not identify so strongly with being a person who stutters. I am by no means saying that you shouldn’t disclose to people or to hide it. You should own it but it’s not your identity. Sometimes we distance ourselves from people unknowingly by just THINKING that we’re different but we’re not. What helped me the most was group speech therapy in college. My university just so happened to be ranked in stuttering research at the time and speech therapy classes were cheap due the fact that they were graduate students but under the supervision of someone specialized in stuttering. Also, having a job that requires me to constantly talk to new people and train people, I get a lot of practice talking. It’s helped A LOOOOT to have that kind of job. I tried to go into computer science because I “liked computers” but really I was just trying to find something that I didn’t need to talk to people all the time for. But being here now I can’t even imagine. College is going to be a great time and I wish I had the mindset I do now. The faster you can not give a fuck about it, the faster you will allow yourself to have experiences that you would shy away from due to stuttering. Anyone who gives a weird look can go fuck themselves, and the people who are decent humans won’t give a shit.