Saying things aloud, to yourself or to others, is something I've hugely underestimated as a learning tool.

This is why I barely know any lyrics of any songs, for example, because I've always been to embarrassed to sing along. There are some pretty good lyrics out there!

This is also why you should take great care when you ever criticise the noises that come out of other people's mouths.

By silencing them you might get what you want, but you're hampering their ability to learn and enjoy the world, potentially for the rest of their life.

I actually seriously considered learning sign language because I was wanting to be able to talk to myself more without disturbing others and felt I could better communicate non-verbally (dancing, cuddling/touching, typing), having grown up with this.

How fucked up is that.

Now that I think about it, it's fucked up that schools essentially do this to an extent to ALL of us.

Sit down, be quiet, and behave.

I performed very well at school. At what cost?

I feel blessed that I've finally understood this, though, 6 years on.