August Recap
Greetings my Friends,
We had a fantastic group on Monday, and as usual we had a great turnout. There were 19 of us in total, and 3 first-timers – welcome Dennis, Mordechai and Lenard!
We started off with intros, told the group why we were here and if we had any exciting end of summer plans coming up. Most of us did, so that was really nice to hear. Then we split up into two groups and talked about several issues.
We discussed the unconventional reactions we sometimes get as people who stutter, and how it can be tough to NOT take things personally. But then the idea was brought up of ‘why let some stranger have the power to ruin your day’ with a weird comment they just made when that just reflects what kind of shitty day they are having, or what kind of person they are. In either case, it seems that we may have more power than what we sometimes think in how we let people’s reactions to our stuttering effect us.
This led the conversation to when it is appropriate to advertise, to tell someone that you stutter, in case the listener is confused as to what is going on.. or to just allow yourself to stutter in a safer environment. And with most things stuttering related, there is no one set rule, but perhaps experimentation should can be encouraged. But the consensus seemed to be that advertising seemed more appropriate to do for yourself, and not the other person.
On that note, most people we come across everyday are cool, socially smart and/or patient, but every now and then, we get that one person who seems to act in a dumb way. Do you let it go? Do you take it as an opportunity to advocate for yourself? Do you educate them? Again, there doesn’t seem to be one answer, but it is important to remind yourself that your voice and your message is VERY important and should be heard, regardless of how it comes out.
We talked about some other super interesting things, and you will have to join us next time to get the full scoop of what goes on in our meetings.
Enjoy the rest of your summer! And if you plan on joining us for the NSA Sunday hike in a few days, you can RSVP here. Today will be the last day to do so since we need a couple days to finalize the car pool arrangement. And if you can drive, please let us know. We just need one more driver, and gas money will be provided.