I’m a lawyer. Law school was rough. One professor told me I should drop out because of my speech. That made me angry enough to keep going—partly just to prove this guy wrong. Things were difficult at first. But the more I appeared in court and spoke publicly, the more this thing started to lose its grip on me. Ultimately, what helped was a kind of exposure therapy. I spoke in public. I got used to the idea that some people would have a problem with me and some people wouldn’t. Eventually I stopped caring about the first group. And then things got easier and easier. Today, I don’t even think about my speech—even though I still block sometimes. It’s okay. My hope for you is that you can avoid blaming yourself and feeling shame. It’s not your fault and you’re awesome just for getting out there. Keep the faith. You’re going to be great.