*Sorry for the grammar. I'm exhausted from work, and not in the mood to nit pick my writing or whether I'm doing you vs me writing.* I'm an adjunct professor of respiratory therapy and a practicing registered respiratory therapist. I intubate people and put them on life support, and I teach my craft to others. I joined my nation's Army at 17 which was rough because I joined to be a combat medic/ paratrooper. Medics have to be one of the most solid soldiers on the team. There's a good chance that you will be the only medical personnel to deal with multiple patients with multiple injuries that would shut down a fully staffed ER WHILE in live combat. As such, you have to prove yourself all of the time to everyone. They have to trust thst your solid because you are their life line. I had to prove myself to some people much harder because of my stutter. I also faced bullying that I had to squash really quick. Overall, I had a successful career. I got out and used my GI Bill to pursue a bachelor's degree which I graduated Summa Cuma Laude in respiratory therapy. As an RT, I enjoyed when the students would come to our hospital to shadow us. I enjoyed teaching them the cool stuff that the Army taught me. So one day, I asked my old Professor if I could volunteer to help for a lab. Much to my shock he told me to apply for a job. I now teach a class of 20 respiratory therapy students how to perform respiratory therapy from the perspective of a battlefield level trauma provider. I can teach them why we do/don't do things from live experience. I get to coach them and help them through the tougher parts of this job like losing a patient or having to make certain choices because I lived those experiences on hard mode. I bring a perspective to my field that almost no one in else in my field has that I know of. I also work in a hospital once a week managing patient's on ventilators. As a stutterer, I can empathize with their plight to an extent. They are not able to talk for the most part while they are on the ventilator. Many of them are relearning how to speak. Many of them are new to having a speech impediment and are scared. Knowing that they are not alone helps. I also run some of the code Blues on occasion because I work nights and I'm the most experienced. I also DM Dungeons and Dragons groups which my stutter doesn't inhibit me much. Overall, I feel like I've had a remarkable life. I live comfortably, and enjoy how I live on my own terms. It was alot of hard work, overcoming adversity, and developing thick skin...yet being brave enough to be vulnerable to heal from my traumas. I often had to go the extra mile just to shine with my speech fluent peers. I don't view stuttering as a death sentence. It's a hurdle for sure, but not a complete deal breaker for a happy and fulfilling life.