At fourteen years old, my world completely changed. For the first semester of my freshman year, I was focused on homework, theater, and fitting in with everyone else. But by the time December came around, I was learning how to live as a type one diabetic, counting carbs, and checking blood sugars. At first, I felt like my life had been devoted to numbers: glucose readings, insulin doses, grams of sugar. I had to question everything: how many carbs is this? Why is my glucose so high? Everything felt out of control, and I was left wondering if I would or if I could even feel "normal" again. But what I did not realize was that these numbers would ultimately teach me important lessons that have and will continue to help me far beyond my diagnosis. The truth is that diabetes does not go away. It is there when I am sitting in class, when I am hanging out with my friends, even in the middle of the night when alarms wake me up because my blood sugar goes low. At first, these challenges were overwhelming and had become the only thing I could focus on. There were times where it felt impossible to live a normal life and days that felt like I lost out on time spent with friends and family. But over time, I realized that diabetes was teaching me something more important than to balance my numbers: it was teaching me to persevere. That perseverance has become one of my strongest qualities. Through these tough times, I learned discipline and responsibility for my health. For example, on a Friday night after a football game, my friends were planning to get ice cream together. I had to make the decision to sit out of the fun because my blood sugar was running high. I learned to speak up to teachers and coworkers when I needed to step away for a moment and to educate my friends about how it is to live with diabetes. I found ways to take care of myself and to push through low blood sugar while at work. I learned to manage the frustration of incorrect sensor readings when I am trying to focus on other activities. I have been taught to stay organized by keeping everything I need in one spot in my house. I also learned organization by carrying a bag for my supplies when I am on the go. Every obstacle has built my resilience, not just for managing a chronic illness like diabetes, but for facing other challenges life throws my way. That same attention to detail, problem-solving, and resilient mindset is what draws me to studying Civil Engineering in college, where small calculations and decisions can shape entire projects. Type one diabetes is part of who I am, but it certainly does not define me. It has helped shape me towards someone who refuses to back down, who can adapt to issues and problem-solve under stress, and who understands that even some of the toughest battles can be faced one step at a time. College will bring forth its own challenges, but I know that I can overcome them, because I have already faced one of the hardest challenges in my life, and I have grown stronger for it. Just as I learned to track numbers, organize supplies, and problem-solve under pressure with diabetes, I know I can apply the same persistence to my future.