Owen B.
Featuring Owen Bartosh
If you’re reading this, say it out loud.
When people meet me, they often tell me that I am a good public speaker. They see me as an extrovert and a people person, always willing to talk and share my thoughts. But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, it was almost never that way.
When I was 10 years old, I was diagnosed with a severe stuttering speech impediment. The speech pathologist told me that I would never be able to overcome my stutter. And for a long time, that fact controlled my life.
I didn’t order food at restaurants. I didn’t introduce myself to new people. I didn’t dare give a long presentation at school. I stuttered and stumbled through life, terrified of what people were thinking when I opened my mouth and nothing came out.
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a leader and speak in front of people. I had many opinions, thoughts, and ideas to contribute to the conversations around me. My stutter proved to be an obstacle in the path of those aspirations, and I was worried that if I even tried to overcome it, I would be met with ridicule from the people around me and find disappointment in myself.
In my sophomore year of high school, I came across an opportunity to join the speech and debate club. Never in my life would I have considered doing something like this, but on a whim, I signed up for the first meeting. When it came time to deliver the speech, I mustered up all the courage I had in me and began to speak, out loud.
And it was an utter disaster. I stumbled and stuttered my way through seven agonizing minutes of an expository about the U.S. public transportation system. However, when it was over, I didn’t feel the usual shame that characterized my attempts up to that point. For once in my life, I did not allow my stutter to control my decisions, and it felt freeing.
Over the next several years, I continued to speak. I never did very well at these competitions, but I always walked away with more satisfaction because of what I was doing. From those moments on, I would never let my stutter control my life.
Over time and with practice, my stutter all but disappeared. I still mess up on words from time to time and struggle when I am with new people, but it does not dictate what decisions I make.
As we go through life, we cannot allow our shortcomings or flaws to stand in the way of pursuing our goals. You can speak up too. When you do, there will be mistakes, and you may not accomplish all that you once wanted. But you will have the freedom to live.
As Winston Churchill, former British Prime Minister and a stutterer himself once said, “Never give in, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty- never give in...”.
You don’t have to let flaws rule your life. Choose to try, and even if you fail, you will have overcome the chains of anxiety. Never give in. Now say that, out loud.
Owen B., Southern Methodist University
Connect With Us
To follow IfYoureReadingThis at SMU on Instagram, get in touch with our chapter, and learn about more resources available to SMU students, visit our chapter’s homepage.