I was a shy kid. I would never raise my hand in class, always sat in the back corners of the school cafeteria at lunchtime, and even had to bring a book with me to family gatherings when interaction became too overwhelming. And then, to top it all off, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes—an autoimmune disease where one’s pancreas can no longer produce insulin to break down foods and sugars on its own—when I was 6 years old. I felt worried and different before as it was, and now I had two wearable devices that I administered insulin through and monitored my blood glucose levels on. While life-changing, these two devices constantly beep to signal whenever my blood sugar levels get too low and/or too high, and I was the only kid whenever treats were brought into school to celebrate a birthday that had to bring the treat home. A longtime dancer and thespian, I remember wearing a skin tone-colored armband over my devices to both disguise them and fit in with the others.
Even though I was shy, I made a choice to fake it, and the world opened up to me. I was brave and I started going to auditions for both community and school theater, getting the opportunity to play roles like Cinderella in Into the Woods and Queen Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream amongst others. Not long after, I joined my school’s debate team as the only female, and through lots of learning curves and hard work along the way, I am now the captain of the team, and qualified along with my partner to compete in the virtual, nation-wide Tournament of Champions. I realized that putting people at ease put me at ease, and found that eye contact and even the volume I spoke at gave me authority and opened doors. And pretty soon, I wasn’t faking it anymore: I believed it.
Soon, that skin tone-colored armband remained in the back of my drawer, as I no longer felt the need to hide the parts of me that make me, well, me! I take every chance I get to represent the T1D community, and no longer shy away from answering questions people may have about them—I use it as a learning opportunity to promote awareness.
Fifteen lead and supporting theater roles and five debate titles later, I understand the power of poise and love teaching others to Shine in their own lives.