SAY: Look at the Moon.

 'We see the same moon...you and I' 

A couple of weeks ago I talked about my Stuttering Soulmate and I got the chance to express how lucky I feel to have a Stuttering Soulmate. I made the point that my Stuttering Soulmate is a part of my bigger stuttering community - My 'Stamily' as I've heard a few people call it! This community is built on the foundation that stuttering is just another way of talking and the people within this community understand and embrace stuttering as part of a person. Not as a defect or as a problem that needs to be fixed. And one of the best things about the stuttering community is that if you stutter, or if you are a stuttering ally, you are already a member. There is no initiation stage, there is nothing you need to do to prove your worth. The stuttering community is all accepting and all embracing. 

Part of the SAY:DC Space in Washington

There are various stuttering communities that I'm apart of; 

the one which I grew up with and currently work for, the Irish Stammering Association, the one which I've only recently become a part of, the stuttering blogger world and the one which I get to travel across the world to see, SAY (the stuttering Association for the young). And when I visited America last month (January), I had the pleasure of being able to visit SAY again and spend time with the founder of the organization, Taro Alexander! What a Guy! And everyone who knows Taro, would say the same thing! I've known Taro since I was 6 years old...that's 17 years! Woah...I haven't actually thought about that in a while! 17 years of knowing Taro means 17 years of being involved with SAY. Awesome! 

Taro, Matt (My Stuttering Soulmate) and I at the SAY:DC Space in Washington

SAY, especially Camp SAY, is a special place. 

It is a place where we you can speak without fear. It is a place where you can explore yourself through the creative arts. It is a place where no matter how long you've been away, and being from Ireland, I've more often than not been away, you are always welcomed back with open arms. It is a feeling of coming home. 

The Camp SAY Staff members (2018) 
I'm in the first row (sitting down) second from the right

I think one of the most special things about SAY is the symbol of the moon. 

Every Camp SAY opens with a camp fire and closes with a camp fire. And on these opening and closing nights, Taro makes the point of getting us all to look up at the moon. We are all under and looking up at the same moon. Which means that when Camp SAY is over and we're all back at home and we look up at the moon, we are looking at the same moon. A reminder that we are not alone. We have a community of people who will always be there, even if they are on the other side of the world. 

I took the liberty of googling what the moon means in terms of spirituality and I learned that, amongst other things, it's a symbol of spiritual connection. So I believe, and I think I may speak for a lot of other people, everyone who has connected with SAY in some shape or form, stays connected, to the people and to the idea that your words are worth waiting for.