“I can do anything.”
This empowering mantra is something I would wholeheartedly believe in regardless of my diabetes. However, it resonates with me that much more because of my diabetes.
Seeing as I was diagnosed as a young child, I don’t recall life without diabetes. That being said, I never really went through a period where I felt like diabetes was stopping me from doing something that I was able to do with greater ease pre-diagnosis. I’ve always been a motivated person. I don’t allow anyone or anything to prevent me from accomplishing my goals in life. Most of all, I don’t let diabetes intervene by bringing me to a screeching halt.
I will admit that it seldom slows me down. There are moments where I panic and can’t help but wonder if I’ve finally stumbled into something that diabetes won’t let me do or enjoy. A prime example of this is when I recently visited my boyfriend in Washington, D.C. It was the longest distance I have ever traveled by myself, and I was practically petrified at the mere prospect of something going wrong concerning my diabetes care and management.
That’s when my fiery determination kicked into high gear. I went through a list of “I can” moments that have happened to me over the course of the past year that were concrete evidence that there is no limit to what I can do:
- I can graduate college early
- I can start a brand new job and get promoted in less than six months
- I can sign up for a gym membership and get back into shape
- I can endure devastating losses
- I can change my insulin therapy from shots to the pump
I can eat ice cream for dinner, I can go out for a drink with my friends, I can paint my nails fuchsia or chartreuse or navy blue…whether it’s trivial or tremendous, my list of “I can” moments could go on and on.
Diabetes is infuriating. It’s exhausting and it’s inconvenient. But it is not what determines what I can choose to do in life. It cannot and I refuse to let it.
That’s a really great list of I Cans!