I was a shy boy. If I said that to my friends now, it would seem like a complete lie. However, when I was a child, my shyness was obvious. But now as a young man, I enjoy public speaking, talking to people and generally being social.
This is all because I started to love reading.
When I was really young, I had a strong stutter. I was also large for my age. The combination made the act of speaking unattractive at best. I had so much to say, but I was scared to speak because I didn't want to get teased. When I did raise my hand to ask or answer questions, I was often teased for the way I spoke. Because of that, I never wanted to participate. So I found solace in something I loved...books.
My mother was very passionate about my education. She read to me and made me read every day as a child. She encouraged me to increase my vocabulary. Eventually, I became infatuated with books of all sorts. I loved the way books had heroes and how sometimes the people that seem useless can be the most powerful.
Since I loved books, the most wonderful place in the world to me was the library. Some people think books are boring, but the library made books come to life for me. For a long time, the only way I knew how to read was out loud. One day when I was at the library with my mom, she told me to read each line as if I was thinking it. After a couple tries, I got the hang of it and it changed my life.
I discovered that the reason I was stuttering was because I tried to get everything out of my head at once. It was almost like I was trying to read a book out loud too fast. It created confusion and my mouth did not have time to adjust. The more great stories I read, the more reading to myself felt like second nature. When I started speaking in my head and thinking about what I was going to say, I began to articulate better than most of the people in my class.
From then on, I became a very social person and looked forward to voicing my opinion. Now I not only think before I speak but I also make sure what I’m saying accurately reflects everything I'm thinking. Because of this, I was not only able to make friends but also become more confident. To this day, reading is my favorite thing to do. It reminds me how far I've come. I now believe in myself, because I believe in reading.
Gravesande is a student at Lock Haven University. He is majoring in Electronic Media and hopes to become a lawyer.
