Today’s College Diabetes Week blog post is supposed to be a selfie or a picture of day-to-day life and how diabetes impacts it. I’m sure my picture would be much more interesting if I was still in college, but instead I’ll share one of daily life as a college grad/full-time employee:
Yup, that’s a picture of my cubicle at work. I spend 40 hours per week sitting and working in this space, so as you may be able to tell, I’ve injected a lot of my personality into the area. Among the office supplies, you can see a bit of the Disney section of my desk. You can see Princess Peach and Mario on a card my boyfriend drew for me. You can see hot pink sticky notes all over my desk with reminders scribbled on them. You can see a space heater, which I recently purchased because it can be absolutely freezing at my desk. And you can see some of my diabetes supplies, positioned to the left of my computer. They’re always there, within an easy reach. Just like diabetes itself, they have a permanent spot here at my job. While I may not always be thinking about them or my diabetes, that doesn’t mean any of it just disappears when it’s time for me to do my job.
While I’m writing this, I’d like to give a quick shout-out to my employers: They are completely understanding of my diabetes. They are accommodating to my needs and listen to me when I explain things about my diabetes that they may not have known before. I’m lucky to work for a company and for people who really care like they do. If there are any college students reading this who are worried about making the next transition in life (from surreal college living to the cold “real world”), rest assured that it’s not too bad at all. Just as you thrived with diabetes in college, you’ll thrive in the professional world, grad school, or wherever else life may take you next.
