Tag: Speech

My fondness for words began at a young age, around the same time I developed a stutter. It is odd since I’d just discovered the beauty of the written word only to get inhibited verbally. Noticing this discouraged me to speak. As much as I tried to appear as a normal child, my silences became more frequent to the point that my family began to notice. So that I’d be comfortable, they learned to adapt to my pace.

Slowly, things around the household began to change. It became a game of who could say the least words per day. Mornings became dedicated to quiet goodbyes and silent car rides to school. Gesturing became commonplace, as we sat down to eat our family dinners in stark silence. I was learning to be comfortable in silence, and this continued as I grew up.

When I first started school, it became clear to me that it was a different environment. People here would remember first impressions. Keeping up appearances was a must. I dreaded the day I had to go to the front of the classroom and introduce myself. I remember having a hard time getting words across. I felt like drowning after the ordeal, every time.

Ironically, it would be words that kept me company throughout my schooling. My love of reading began when I discovered a few tattered short story collections lying around the house. The Gift was one of the stories I vividly remember from that time. The tale recalled a man and his wife who exchanged Christmas gifts knowing that they can’t afford to buy presents for each other. The man proceeds to sell his gold watch to buy an ornamented hair clip for his wife. The wife sells her hair to finance a gold chain for his watch. The themes of the story are acceptance and sacrifice, both of which I had to undergo due to my lack of words.