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From: Anita
Date: 19 Oct 2004
Time: 07:18:38 -0500
Remote Name: 62.80.192.10
First, thank you all for replying in such a kind and supportive way. It really gives me a warm feeling. Many of you asked me how I came through those hurtful years and became the person I am today. I was born and raised in the Netherlands and started to stutter at 9 and was bullied by pupils and teachers and missunderstood by my parents. When I left school and everyone had their graduation parties I was not invited and I had no idea who to invite to mine. That made me realize I had NO friends. I spent so many years to be the person I thought they wanted me to be, I thought there was no way out other than to get out of their way in the most drastic way possible. I will save you the long story, but the first step was a summer job which resultet into a steady job where people saw the real me and I was officially put forward as a most experienced worker. As I slowly came out of my closet and showed the real me, I suddenly got a boyfriend, my first ever! Also music played a big part in my life, as through music I could express myself. I now realized that people never like the person I was playing to please others, but being me, including my stuttering, brought me friends! Than I met my future husband and moved to Sweden. At the age of 27 I found a leaflet from the local stuttering club. CLUB??? Are there more "failures" like me??? I went there and finally felt home. I was not an outsider anymore. I joined the club, became a board member locally, nationally and later on internationally, joined every chatgroup possible and here I am. The people on the chatgroups gave me so much support, they litterally gave me back my life! Because of all this, I became stronger and more aware of my abilities. I now can return all the support I have received by giving support myself! I'm now at the beginning of a new life and have never felt better. A new day has just begun! If you want to know more details, don't hesitate to contact me in private at info@anita.se. Thanks for your comments!