When I was younger it used to be a big obstacle. Kid is not capable of dealing with something like that and all negative effects it has on your life. It was hard, I was shy, didn't have much friends, etc. As I've been getting older it's becoming less and less of an issue. I still have some issues caused by all these years when I had worse grasp of how to deal with it but I am doing much better. Biggest change for me was when I moved from home to go to study on college. You are put into new environment with a lot of new people and you don't have a lot of time to adjust and learn how to deal with all of it. Today, I still stutter. I will still try to avoid stuttering by replacing a word or similar, but I am kinda fine with it. My stutter made me who I am today, and I mostly like the person I've become. I still have a lot of work to do on myself and my talk but I am positive I can make it all work. I also give less shit about whether people find it funny or want to insult you. Though, I didn't have much of those lately. I'll often even laugh with a friend when I start stuttering on a word and then replace it with another. It's all in a good spirit. What I would suggest everyone here, get out of your comfort zone. That's the important part to grow as a person and help you become comfortable with who you are. I already wrote this quote in another thread but I think it tells a lot: "I constantly get out of my comfort zone. Looking cool is the easiest way to mediocrity. The coolest guy in my high school ended up working in a car wash. Once you push yourself into something new, and whole new world of opportunities opens up. But, you might get hurt, in fact you WILL get hurt. But amazingly when you heal - you are somewhere you've never been before."