It comes as no surprise that I’ve been struggling for months
with how to start. But there is a common
sentiment regarding talking about important secrets that goes: it is not so
important how you say it, as
long as you say it. So in other words,
spit it out. Don’t let questions over
how to approach and frame the story prevent you from telling it.
Here goes.
There are many reasons why I wanted to start this
website. Some of them entirely
self-serving (practicing telling the story of diabetes and discovering my own
story), some of them silly (Money! Fame! Blogging makes you super rich,
right?), and some of them eagerly if vaguely benevolent (hoping somehow in some
way this helps someone).
But above all else, the core principle is this: the diabetes narrative deserves some
positivity.
No matter the medium or the speaker, the dominant message
about diabetes is ominous. Diabetes appears
to go hand-in-hand with life limitations, serious threats to your health, and
miserable routines. While those things
can play a part in experiences with diabetes, that perception doesn’t do
justice to the disease or the people who live with it.
People with diabetes are incredibly strong and their
tenacity should be celebrated. Diabetes
is a serious condition, but it is within everyone’s grasp to make changes that will
help them improve. If we really focus on
our health instead of what’s holding us back or what could happen, we can live just
as happily, if not more, as anyone else.
There’s something missing in all the pamphlets and pharmaceutical
commercials and doctors’ visits and materials about diabetes. Maybe it’s in there, but the font size just
isn’t big enough:
WE CAN DO THIS.
More on that to come.
