Global megastar Ed Sheeran had a wonderful message of hope and encouragement to any children that feel a little different or ‘weird’.
The British singer has Irish heritage and is heavily influenced by Irish music, which he spent a lot of time listening to as a kid.
However, it is a different genre of music that he credits with helping him get rid of his stutter, which had become a frustrating childhood issue.
He added that if he could overcome adversity as a youngster to become a successful adult then so can the children of today.
Sheeran made his comments at the Freeing Voices Changing Lives Benefit Gala, held by the American Institute for Stuttering.
He told the audience: “I was a very, very, very weird child. I had a port-wine stain birthmark on my face that I got lasered off when I was very young.
“One day they forgot to put the anaesthetic on. Ever since then I had a stutter.
“I also had very, very big blue NHS glasses.
“The thing that I found most difficult about it was knowing what to say but not really being able to express it in the right way. I did different speech therapies and stuff, which wasn’t very successful.
“At a young age. I got very, very into rap music. My dad bought me the Marshall Mathers LP when I was nine years old – not knowing what was on it!
“He let me listen to it and I learned every word of it back to front. It helped me get rid of the stutter.
“Stuttering is not a thing you have to be worried about at all. Even if you have quirks and weirdness, you shouldn’t be worried about that.
“Just be yourself because there’s no one in the world that can a better you than you. If you try to be the cool kid from class, you’ll end up being very boring.
“Be yourself, embrace your quirks. Being weird is a wonderful thing. Don’t treat it as an issue and don’t see it as a plight on your life.
“Carry on pushing forward. I did alright, you can do alright as well.”
Well said Ed.
It’s an inspiring and positive message which hopefully will make kids feel good about themselves as they grow up and never shy away from being themselves.
Take a look at the video below.
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