Because I have a stutter, I am glad to be who I am today. February Meeting Report

Hello, this is the Toyohashi Genyukai. We held our February meeting, and here is a report on how it went.

■ What is February 22nd an anniversary of? The speech theme this time was "Anniversaries on February 22nd." In fact, this day is not just Cat Day, but also Hot Spring Day, Oden Day, Katsu Curry Day, World Friendship Day, and so on—an astonishing number of anniversaries overlap. Each member chose a theme they liked and talked about their love for their pets, their preferences for oden ingredients, and more.

■ The difficulty of "giving guidance" and a sense of responsibility for words The discussion also touched on the "boundary between guidance and power harassment," which is a recent social issue. "I have to give feedback, but how should I convey it?" "How will my words be received by the other person?" As people who stutter, we are usually more sensitive to "words" than others. Because of this, we shared the confusion of being overly cautious so as not to hurt the other person.

■ If you didn't have a stutter, what would you be doing? "I would have wanted to work hard and earn a lot in a job that involves interacting with people!" While such honest feelings came out, what was very interesting was the opinion that "maybe it's good that I have a stutter." "If I didn't have a stutter and talked too much, I might have failed because of an unnecessary comment." "Because of the way I speak now, my sincerity sometimes comes across better." While imagining a "world without" a stutter, we affirmed ourselves in the "world with" one. It was a time when we touched upon the strength and kindness of all the participants.

At the Toyohashi Genyukai, we value a place where we can talk with peace of mind about these daily worries and sudden realizations.