Tell us about something significant that you have done to improve yourself, in either your professional and/or personal endeavors. Essay - Unknown

Tell us about something significant that you have done to improve yourself, in either your professional and/or personal endeavors. One beautiful, sunny morning a few years ago, I was driving to office when I heard Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the US, reciting his poem "Introduction to Poetry" on the radio. After he finished, I pulled over and sat quietly on the curb for a while. I just had to. That is the reason I write poems: to make someone else late for work. Much of my early life was spent battling a frustratingly severe stutter. A typical morning roll-call at school went like this: "...Roll number 21?" "Present!" "22?" "Present, miss!" "23?" "P...p...p..." "...24?" Throughout my schooling, I was roll number 23. My speech impediment made everyday activities staggeringly difficult: answering a question in class was terror, having a conversation was inconceivable. My journey to overcome stuttering began when I was introduced to poetry as part of the school curriculum. In poetry, I found the courage and inspiration that changed my life. P.K. Page's poem "This Heavy Craft" still takes me back to the early days of my struggle: "I, Icarus, though grounded / in my flesh / have one bright section in me / where a bird / night after starry night / while I'm asleep / unfolds its phantom wings / and practices." In Icarus' struggle, I saw my own. Drawn by its fluidity, I started reciting poetry to myself in front of the mirror. The slow, steady rhythm of verse forced me to speak clearly and helped me identify the letters I "blocked" on. I kept a list of words that cued my stutter and isolated the difficult sounds – "p," "d," "n", and "s." Through regimented practice, I noticed that controlling my breathing and nervousness when faced with the offending words reduced my disfluencies. As my confidence grew, I forced myself to break out of my solitary comfort-zone and participate in class. It was humiliating at first, often publicly, but even my little successes – a five-minute conversation in a small group, a stanza recited to a classroom of 50 – kept me going. Having recited poetry for so long, composing it was the natural next step. Unwilling to self-isolate again, I pushed myself to engage local writing communities wherever I went. For the last eight years, I've managed an online poetry club I started at IIT-Bombay. In Austin, I founded the city's first poetry club, grew it from five to over 100 members in the one year I managed it, and organized monthly poetry-readings at coffee-shops and book-clubs. Today, the club is flourishing. While reading poetry in public improved my speech, working constructively with other writers made my own poetry sparkle. In 2009, I won a National Poetry Award in India – a confirmation not only of my craft but also of my relentless pursuit of self-improvement and my resilience in the face of years of self-doubt. As I walked on-stage to read my poem, my hands were shaking with exhilaration. I was not afraid any more – neither of ridicule, nor of failure. I closed my eyes; a crowd of 500 grew quiet. Once again, I was back in my bedroom – a child in front of the mirror. I was Icarus: feathers unfolded, ready for flight. I took a deep breath, and began.