Positive: Friends - I have a great set of close friends who I know will be there for me no matter what. They have put up with my severe stutter (sometimes being unable to get out anything for over a minute) and my avoidance of parties/social situations my whole life. They have done everything in their power to help me including telling people off who say rude things about it. I seriously know who my true friends are. Networking - Being a stutterer also gives you the opportunity to meet really cool other stutterers. I'm currently traveling through Europe and in each town/city I look up the local stuttering support group and instantly have a group of friends to show me around town. Personally - I believe I am a stronger person than the majority of fluent people. I deal with anxiety and fear everyday but I am determined to overcome it. I believe I am a good people person as I have had to build on my strengths to compensate for my stutter. Negatives: The negatives unfortunately do outweigh the positives. Avoidance is the worst part of stuttering. Not all of us do avoid but I do and I know how it is horrible. Fear of talking to strangers, ordering food, job interviews, talking in class has had a huge impact on my life. School/University - In the past I have avoided both the academic and social parts of school/university. I had a tight group of friends who I expressed myself fairly well with but with everyone else I got by with 'stock phrases'. I would never talk about myself but instead just ask questions. If I was asked a question I would avoid words and this usually ended me telling small and big lies. Academically, I would sit in class nervous scared the teacher would ask me a question. This made it very hard to concentrate on what I was learning. I got good enough grades but I never enjoyed school. This does make me said. At university things were better but I still struggled. I have taken a year off to work on my speech and travel the world. Employment - Job interviews scared the shit out of me. I am sure many of you here will agree. I ended up doing jobs I hated just because they involved minimal speaking. Overall - Every day was/is just filled with anxiety and fear. However, the more I work on my speech and my avoidances the more the fear reduces. I know I am on the right track and I am positive one day all the fear will be gone. I might still stutter but I will be living my life as I want. Tip: I have found that the more you avoid something the more you fear it. Facing fears is hard, but once you have done it a few times it gets easier each time.