Two different bowling alleys (including one in Florida), a church bathroom during orchestra rehearsal, a moving car, and the band practice room twenty minutes before a concert. These are some of my favorite locations where I have changed my medical devices when they failed unexpectedly. My everyday life changed drastically on November 5th, 2018, when I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Over the course of a few hours, I went from being a normal fifth grader to one responsible for her health, practically taking on the job of an organ. I became a pancreas, learning how to calculate dosages, test my blood sugar, and give insulin when I was still just a kid. I believe that the greatest challenge that I had to overcome in relation to my diabetes was not physical, but rather getting over the mindset that made me embarrassed to take care of myself in public. When I was first diagnosed at age ten, I was unable to change my medical devices anywhere except my dining room table. I did not want my medical devices showing, choosing to wear my CGM on my abdomen and my pump under my clothes. I was even ashamed of the crinkling of snacks in a classroom and would step into the hallway when low. Now, as a senior in high school, I allow people to see that I have type 1 diabetes. I remember the joy that I felt when I was younger in seeing others wearing a Dexcom or insulin pump, and I have decided to be that person for younger diabetics. I always wear my pump visibly on my waistband and my Dexcom on my arm. I even ordered a special arm bracelet for my Dexcom for prom next week! After seven years, diabetes has made me fierce by giving me confidence: confidence to open a bag of low snacks in a silent classroom, confidence to change a CGM while talking with friends, and confidence to test my blood sugar in the middle of an orchestra rehearsal. Diabetes has given me the confidence to overcome embarrassment and to take care of myself because it is not something that I should feel the need to hide. I now have the courage to talk openly about my condition and have been able to answer many questions from those around me, which then raises awareness and can help make other type 1 diabetics feel more seen. As I have gotten older and have lived with diabetes longer, I have become more invested in optimizing my blood sugars, treating my diabetes as a never-ending math problem (math is my favorite subject). It was then that I realized that I had enjoyed learning about how my blood sugar reacts to different circumstances. I discovered that the part of me that had seemed like a burden, the part that I felt the need to hide, was what I wanted to devote the rest of my life to. During the summer before my junior year, I decided that I wanted to become a doctor. Specifically, I wanted to become an endocrinologist specializing in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. I have seen the impact that a good endocrinologist has on a diabetic, especially one who is newly diagnosed. I have also learned that it is often difficult for type 1 diabetics to find endocrinologists who actually understand the struggles they face. I would like to be a doctor that my patients would connect with, and I hope that they would value my medical advice even more because they could see part of themselves in me.