> one of the reasons a stutter is such a pain in the ass is the concern (I am not sure if its a legitimate concern or not, but it is there) that you are not taken seriously and using words like "cute" or "adorable" can be easily taken as dismissive. I hadn't thought about it this way, but now that you say this, I can totally see what you mean. I guess I need to be careful about the words I choose, and always try to make my true meaning clear. Thanks. > you feel admiration because your friends were able to find a job? that is condescending. They are just trying to make rent and you see it as some sort of great accomplishment? I kind of think you've got the wrong end of the stick here, actually. Maybe I should have been clearer about their situations. Friend #1 is leaving a successful and very lucrative career in accounting to pursue his longstanding dream of being a teacher. Friend #2 has a job which doesn't require him to speak at conferences, but has been offered the chance to do so and has chosen to accept it. This isn't about them making rent, it's about them deliberately seeking out challenges. I'm not sure if this is relevant, but in both of these specific cases, I would be impressed even if they didn't stutter. They're succeeding in ways that I've personally failed at times. For instance, I'm currently not entirely happy in my current job, yet I'm not doing anything about it. I once turned down an invitation to speak at a conference because I was too shy about public speaking, and ended up regretting it. So I'd be impressed anyway, but I'm even more impressed because they're doing these things in spite of the additional mental barriers that I know stuttering creates for them. It's awesome. Thanks for replying. I haven't watched your TED talk yet, but I will soon :)