Life is really damn hard. I don’t mean to be harsh when I say this, but that is the unfortunate reality. I finished my freshman year of college in May 1st, 2024, turned 19 years old on the 5th, and wound up getting diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes on the 10th. I felt so angry and confused. I was so lost and frightened for what was to come. But a few days later I had a job to do. I had already told my hairdresser I would babysit her two little girls and I couldn’t back down, so I went and I will never regret it. She has two daughters, 1 five year old and 1 two year old. They never fail to make me smile even in dark times. The first thing they noticed and asked questions about was my Dexcom G7 on my arm. And it’s so hard to explain to a 5 year old what that means and why I have to take shots to live. But when I slowly started to explain to her I started to realize I was extremely lucky. My parents are loving and supportive and even though I am 19 years old I am still their baby and they didn’t leave me in the dust to figure out my new life. I didn’t end up in the hospital and by an act of someone or something out there I got to take a cancellation appointment with my doctor. I couldn’t be more grateful to have seen those little girls that day and have shared my story because I was alive and well besides a sore arm and a healing heart. Now this journey will stay with me for the rest of my life and I can not be more proud of it. I am an elementary education major at the University of Alabama and I plan to make my classroom a safe space of every kid and to teach them the joy of being alive and being a kid and teaching them the skills they need to grow up and be astronauts, veterans, doctors, nurses, teachers, plumbers. I want them to understand that what they do is important no matter what it is. My doctors who cared for me are important. Those nurses are important. My mom and my dad are important. My summer school professors are important. All of those people and many more are here for a reason and are worth. And so am I.