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From: Michael Nawrocki
Date: 04 Oct 2007
Time: 09:49:57 -0500
Remote Name: 75.161.148.68
Hi Anita- I am an SLP in Minneapolis. Thanks for sharing your very personal story. That alone is admirable. And what you have written is very inspiring. Something I can share with those kids who are trying too hard to be cool, without not really grasping what I think cool is. I thik we adults have a very definition of what "cool" is. In my mind cool is sticking to who you are, and finding that balance between being compassionate but not caring what other people think. And I honestly believe most teen-agers would agree with this definition, but have a hard time acting on it. So I think a lot of the adolescents I see who stutter would agree that you are pretty cool. But my question is tied to being an adult. So many adults who stutter that I see look back and kind of kick themselves for not being true to themselves as kids, and opportunities lost, for some combination of the reasons you touched on. It's the whole "if I knew then what I know now" phenomenom. So my question is if you could go back in time and talk to your teen-aged self, what would you say? Could anyone have said anything at that time to help you through your difficult times? Or is life's experiences the best, if not only, teacher?