In primary school I used to be teased for how I spoke. My peers would laugh at me telling me that I spoke slowly. To me it sounded funny until it got into my head.

At school I hated oral presentations because my thoughts kept telling me that I was going to bore the audience. I couldn’t even interact with other learners when I didn’t understand a certain topic. I didn’t even raise a hand in class when I knew the answer. I got bored easily when I was around people because I was always focused on my thoughts. I couldn’t stand long conversions.

One day I decided to take a video of myself making a speech. I saved that video and watched it.

I realised that there’s nothing wrong with how I speak. My mistake was letting people, and my thoughts, bully me to an extent that I thought less of myself. I’ve rectified this mistake by forgiving myself and accepting myself the way I am.

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