11 years. 132 months. 4,018 days. More than a decade ago, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. I went from being a normal seven year-old girl, who played with her neighbors, to a child who learned quickly how to deal with change. Six blood sugar tests a day and five insulin shots, I caught people’s attention.

I am bullied because of my diabetes. Instead of asking me why I have to take an insulin shot, people assume I’m weird and sick.

Weird and sick is an assumption. Another assumption is thinking that by eating McDonald’s once, it will ‘give’ you diabetes. It’s like saying I’m going to get cancer because I use my phone to make one call. When I was younger, I didn’t understand why people were saying these things and hated how people made fun of me.

Now that I am in high school, I shrug off negative comments and assumptions. I’m older and more mature and I have the right friends who stand up--not stand by. They are not afraid to tell someone the truth or to correct assumptions. NoH8 week, positive messages on whiteboards, and clubs against bullying, proves my high school will not stand for bullying and teasing.

My high school does not stand for bullying. “It’s not weird, it’s different” refers to the foreign language program to end assumptions and is one of my favorite quotes. It embodies the idea that it’s okay to be different. It means I’m not weird because I have diabetes.

I am who I am because of my diabetes. It has shaped who I am.  I’m a math nerd because of all the calculating. I deal with stress better (I have to or else my blood sugar levels would be all out of whack). And I am more aware of my body because I need to know the symptoms of a high or low blood sugar.

I am who I am and my high school has helped me realize this.