Day 23- Aria
in Awareness
When I was younger, I was helping out at a gymnastics meet with my friend. She went to do a handstand because we had nothing to do, and her shirt lifted up. It was only a little; however I noticed she had a small, white box taped to her stomach. I was not sure what it was, and asked my mom when I got home. She explained that my friend had Type One Diabetes and needed to wear that all the time. I thought to myself: “I’m glad I don’t have to wear that, it would stink to have diabetes”. I didn’t even know what diabetes was, but I knew it affected her greatly. Sadly, we were too young to understand that we both would be caged by this disease for the rest of our lives. At the end of seventh grade, I was struck by the exact same condition that kept that white box on her stomach. Life just has to do that to us sometimes, doesn’t it?
Even though everyone has some type of circumstance that defines them in the eyes of society, there are ways we can use this to help others. My diabetes has opened up a whole world of volunteer options at a research group on Long Island called Breakthrough T1D. Every month I go to a “Teen Talk” where kids around my age meet to discuss life with diabetes.
Diabetes doesn’t stop me from doing gymnastics, going to parties, swimming or seeing a new movie, and it shouldn’t do that to anyone else in the same situation. Other people and sometimes my friends try to restrict me from eating certain foods that they deem “not okay for diabetics”. When people think they know more about your own condition than you do, it is literally the most annoying thing in the world. My blood sugar rises when I’m nervous or stressed but that doesn’t stop me from doing anything that I love, whether I’m worried about my clarinet solo, studying for the SATs, or competing a new skill on vault. Since my diagnosis four years ago, I’ve learned a lot about myself and others through diabetes. We can change the question asked at diagnosis from “What am I going to do?” to “What can’t you do?” because nothing is impossible—the word itself says “I’m possible”. (Audrey Hepburn)
Please consider making a Fund A Cure donation in honor of Aria and others living with T1D by clicking here.