"My Speaking Problem" by Michael G

            In the year 2006, I was 6 years old starting 1st grade in August. I was very excited to start school because for starters, I can meet a lot of new people to be friends with and I get to start a new journey in becoming older. However, I was discouraged to talk to new people not because I was super shy, but I was afraid of the people’s judgment on how I would talk. Every time I talk, I would stutter a lot and stop mid-conversation because I would not know how to pronounce words correctly. I was talking to my mom about my issue and she said it was normal for a kid my age to have these issues and that I would talk correctly sooner or later in first grade. My mothers reply was comforting enough for me to gain my excitement for school again. The next morning, I was on my way to go school running a bit late hoping I would get to school on time, but the traffic to school was as bad as LA traffic which was highly unlikely. When I finally entered my school, I was 10 minutes late which was a great way to start off the first day of school! When I entered my classroom, they were doing a meet and greet to help the students get comfortable with the kids around them. I was actually excited to meet new kids in my class so I can make new friends, but when I was meeting kids in my new class I noticed how clearly they spoke so easily which lowered my self-esteem. However, I didn't want it to affect me so I tried to speak to the other kids in my classroom. I was talking to a kid in my classroom about how I was excited about school, but of course, I couldn’t say it clearly which resulted to the kid giving me an odd look saying: “what did you say?”. I was a bit embarrassed of his reply so I just left him wondering. Then, I talked to another kid hoping he would decipher what I was saying, then again I get the same response as the other kid. But, this time I tried to explain to him what I was saying but the kid gave up on me and left. Later, recess started, so I went to my cousin who is also in the same grade I am and I was talking to him with his friends. But, when I was trying to talk to my cousin about my day, his response ruined my self-esteem. He said, “What? Why do you always stutter? ...You talk funny.”. Then, his friends starting laughing at me. I was mad at my cousin for saying that in front of his friends, but I was more ashamed on how I talked. After recess, I forced myself to not talk the whole day to keep myself from being embarrassed. After school ended, I talked to my parents about my day, my parents then tried to help with my problem by calling the school to help me with how I talk. They said they would put me in a speech class to help with my problem tomorrow. The next day, I was embarrassed going into the speech class because I thought I was going to get insulted for being in the class, plus I thought I would be the only one in the class. However, there were a handful of kids with the same problem as me which felt really comforting. Also, the speech class teacher was really kind and helpful. From 1st-4th grade, I attended speech class and it was one of my favorite class I ever attended in elementary school. By 5th grade, was when I finally began to speak clearly and rarely stutter! Even though, it took awhile for me to overcome my speech problem, I am still thankful to this day that my parents helped me get into the speech class to fix my speech problem. Although, elementary school was not as easy and fun as I anticipated to be, I learned a lesson through all of it. Based on what I experienced, helped me realize to be considerate to the people who are experiencing problems of their own, judging people based on their problems can hurt the person emotionally. Instead, help them through their struggles, raise their self-esteem, and show positivity.