Dear Nora

Dear Nora,

Because of you I am who I am. Because of you I am now a strong person. Because of you I know that I can get through this. Because of you I know how to take good care of myself. I look up to you. You are my role model. You are my inspiration. There is no way in life that you should give up on anything. You fight for what you want in life. You stand up for yourself. So many people look up to you either if they are a diabetic or not. I am so many things because of you. You mean so much to me and I am so blessed to have you as my sister. I know that what we go through can be tough. But I now have this. I now can see what you were going through. I have said that I would have taken this disease away from you so you would not have to deal with it. Well I did end up with it but I did not take it away from you. But you are now not alone. It’s funny to say that things happen for a reason when we talk about why I have this, but look. Since I do have this disease, I have someone to look up to. I have someone who can let me vent to them and you can vent to me. We have got closer because of this. You have always been strong to me and now that you have grown into a beautiful young woman I have seen you become stronger. You never give up in anything you do and I that to me is strong. You have gone through a lot, and I just want to say “keep your head up, keep your love”. You are loved in so many ways Nora. You really are.

Love your sister,

Evelyn

Diabetic Friends

Being a diabetic can be very stressful. We worry about our health all the time that it can get so frustrating in every way. The most stressful and frustrating issue that I feel like I go through is when I am either low or high around my friends that are not diabetics. The reason why it is so irritating is because they truly do not understand what I am feeling. They can “understand” what I am talking about but they do not know what it really feels like. Sometimes I do feel alone and I think that most diabetics will feel that way as well, but after joining a diabetic teen group in my area it has helped me. Not only do we go out and do things together, but we all can vent together and we actually DO understand each other. It is nice just to sit there and just talk about everything that we go through. Because of these people they have made me stronger. I am not saying that my friends who are not diabetics are not there for me because they are. They have also made me stronger, but my diabetic friends have made me stronger because I really know that I am not alone. I have met so many new people within the year that are diabetics and it is just so nice to text them and know that they will always be there for me. So many times I have felt the feeling of being alone but now that I am getting involved more with the diabetic community I do not feel that way anymore. If you are reading this and you are a diabetic remember this: you are not alone! We are all here for each other and we all care for each other. No matter what I will always be there for you, even though I do not know you, I know what you are going through. We are one big diabetic family, and we all care for each other!

Remember to stay strong,

~Evelyn