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The Hardest Yet Best Day of My Life A month ago, I had to present my graduation project, which required me to develop an application, explain it verbally, describe the written portion, and answer questions. For someone like me who struggles with stuttering, this project was impossible to do. Imagine this: I struggle with stuttering in my native language, even with family members. But this project had to be presented in a foreign language, meaning I had to speak and explain everything in another language. The room was filled with people ,an administrator , six professors, and over 20 students I didn’t know. To me, it seemed impossible to get through it smoothly. I accepted that I had to do it and practiced speaking techniques like talking slowly, similar to how leaders speak. My problem has always been that I tend to rush my words, which triggers my stuttering, so I trained myself to speak slowly. I watched interviews of leaders and actors and mimicked their calm, measured speech. When the time came, I entered the room and started speaking slowly and naturally. If I slipped and sped up, I immediately brought myself back to a steady pace. Miraculously, I didn’t stutter once during the entire presentation! I still can’t believe it. My friend, the only person there who knew about my stuttering, was present. After the presentation, he told me that it was the clearest and best he’d ever heard me speak. When I rush my words, he said, my speech can sometimes be hard to understand. In the end, my presentation went way over the time limit, but I didn’t stutter once and received a great grade. Passing this project gave me an incredible boost of confidence—I’ve found it much easier to speak without stuttering since then. Facing a tough challenge made everything else seem simpler. Now, though, my stuttering has started to return. My goal is to make my everyday speech like it was during that presentation.