>I've been stuttering for as long as I can remember and my speech and feeling towards it is hitting rock bottom. I do not enjoy life anymore. I often wake up thinking "great, another day, another set of embarrassments". This basically describes my high school life. I've been there, seeing every day as a new way to embarrass myself, but you can't look at it that way. It was difficult in high school because kids are mean as fuck, but now that I'm older, people aren't nearly as cruel, if anything, they are just unaware of what stuttering looks like. Honestly, the biggest barrier you face right now is to stop caring what other people think. This is a very tough thing to do, and even though I am much more confidant than I was in high school, I still struggle with the fear of embarrassment. But I know I can't let that fear keep me from doing the things I want to do. I will not be controlled by my speech. Today I had a 10 minute presentation to give at my University, and this whole week I have been anxious about it. I have given presentations before, and I always receive good marks, so I'm not sure why I was so anxious. Today was different though, and I felt really nervous. So, I get up there and begin presenting and I stuttered throughout the entire thing, more so than I have ever done in a presentation before. You might think I was embarrassed, but in fact, it was a liberating feeling. I was stuttering freely in front of my class and I loved it! Most of my fear embarrassment comes from being scared to stutter, but here I was stuttering and no one gave a shit, not even me! I finished the presentation to applause, and I received a 95% on it! I think this anxiety I have comes from a fear of people knowing I stutter, but that anxiety melts away when I stutter freely. Perhaps this anecdote of mine can help you get over your fear of embarrassment!