We’re happy to say that this story has a happy ending. Since being in college, these past two years have been some of the best in Crawford’s life. “College was when I started the blog and when I came to terms with my stuttering and learned to love myself and find happiness within myself rather than in others.” He mentions a moment back in his summer speech class, “Towards the end of the semester, one of our male classmates (who was an impeccable public speaker) said out loud, ‘I hate speaking after Nate because he has such a good voice.’ It was like being hit by a train. ‘A good what? A voice?’ For the first time in my life, I was being judged not for my fluency but on my effectiveness. I learned in that class that just because I was dysfluent didn’t mean I was ineffective.” He goes on to advise our readers: first, do not be discouraged or ashamed by the journey you’re on and second, don’t be
afraid to love yourself first. Take Crawford as your role model. Here he is two years later. Happy. Content. Confident. Today, it’s his food blog he turns to when the going gets rough and needs a moment of relaxation. We know this isn’t the last we’ll see of him. In five to ten years from now, Crawford would still love to be blogging and hopefully move to a city with a more diverse and thriving food culture (ex: Baltimore, New Orleans or Chicago). He says, “My goal would be to grow the blog and my photography career to where I could do it as a part-time job. I still want to work in the hospitality industry, so maybe working in sales or events. Maybe food and beverage. Maybe even chef! Life is full of twist and turns, I just want to document it. All I know is that I want to do a job that makes me happy. If I’m not happy, I’m out.”
“DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED OR ASHAMED BY THE JOURNEY YOU’RE ON AND SECOND, DON’T BE AFRAID TO LOVE YOURSELF FIRST.”
30