Diabetes,

I never asked for you.

I never invited you into my life.
I never wanted you to become part of my story.

But somehow, you showed up when I was just 7 years old and changed everything.

You took away the carefree little girl who didn’t have to think about numbers, insulin, carbohydrates, alarms, needles, or whether her blood sugar was going to cooperate today.

You made my mom scared.
You made my family worry.
You made me grow up a little faster than I was supposed to.

And honestly?

There are days I still hate you.

I hate the alarms in the middle of the night.
I hate having to stop what I’m doing to deal with you.
I hate the highs.
I hate the lows.
I hate explaining you to people who don’t understand you.

But as much as I hate what you’ve done to my life…

I can’t deny what you’ve taught me.

You taught me that I am stronger than I ever thought I could be.

You taught me courage.

You taught me patience.

You taught me to speak up—not just for myself, but for the millions of people who live with you too.

You turned me into an advocate.

You gave me a reason to use my voice.

You showed me that being different doesn’t mean being less.

And you taught me something I will never forget:

I don’t have to let you stop me.

I can still sing.
I can still play my instruments.
I can still play sports.
I can still march with my band.
I can still make memories with my family and friends.
I can still dream BIG.

You may be part of my life…

but you are NOT my whole life.

So, Diabetes, I guess this is my version of a love letter to you.

I won’t thank you for coming into my life.

But I will thank you for showing me just how strong I can be.

And someday, I hope I get to say goodbye to you for good.

Maybe that will be my sweetest revenge.

Until then…

I’ll keep fighting.

I’ll keep speaking.

I’ll keep living.

And I’ll keep proving that I wasn’t born to fit in.

I was born to stand out.

Love,
Tamara 💙