Throughout life, it's easy to get caught up in our past, and allow ourselves to be filled with regret and frustration. It's that very regret and frustration that if can weigh us down if we let it. For those of us that stutter, we can often find our stutter to be a constant reminder of what hardships we endured. That is, if we choose to perceive things in that manner. One's ability to have a quality of life is based on a number of things, most importantly the thought process in which we let things either hinder or enlighten our lives. As a person that stutters I look forward every day, to not forgetting my past or the hardships I endured, but viewing those hardships as the foundation on which I stand. A foundation built on humility, integrity, and means to accept no less than what I am capable of achieving. For each of us our foundation will be unique to each, sharing the common thread of using our past not as weights to weigh us down but steps that have built us up to be the individuals we are today.