I'm currently 19 years old and I've always had a stutter. My parents got told that I'd grow out of it, but of course I never did. When I was little, I was definitely aware of my stutter and would do it occasionally, but despite it I was quite outgoing and never really had any problems talking to others. When I was 8 years old I moved overseas and had to learn English. Right now, I stutter more while speaking English but since I had to use it everyday back then it didn't bother me too much. Presentations in front of the class were anxiety-inducing, but I could do them. When I moved back to my home country I was 11, and I really started noticing my stutter become worse as I entered puberty. I became more self-conscious, both about my appearance and my speech. When I was 14-15 my stuttering was so intense, I barely spoke to my friends at school. I was so afraid of stuttering that I would barely say a word, and would get extreme anxiety at the prospect of an oral presentation in front of the class. In high school, when I was 16-18, I started seeing a speech therapist and improved a bit. Before, I could never imagine ordering a coffee at a Starbucks, but I've done it a couple of times now. I still think it's difficult to speak to strangers and can't imagine speaking in front of a class, but I'm trying to challenge myself. So I would say my stuttering becomes really bad if I'm anxious or if I have low self-esteem. Right now I don't have the best self-esteem, so I'm afraid of stuttering, but I'm trying to convince myself that my stuttering doesn't define me. :)