***BEEP BEEP BEEP***Wake Up. Check Instagram. Check Snapchat. Check Twitter. Check Facebook. Get out of bed for the day. Does anyone else’s morning tend to look something like this? After living with diabetes for 17 years I've begun to realize that navigating the world of social media with this disease is not always easy. We are often told that we should hide diabetes, but I am here to tell you that this is far from the truth, because: 

Often the first thing I do is look at pictures people have posted, the new comments on my posts and whatever the heck is going on in the world outside of my bedroom. I have spent hours and hours of my life browsing through photos and even comparing the way my life looks to the way that other peoples’ do. Is this setting pretty enough? Is it weird that you can see my Dexcom in that photo? Why can’t I look more like THAT??? It’s easy to look at these beautifully curated photos and wonder why our lives don’t always look like that.... but that’s just it! They are CURATED. I guarantee that those influencers don’t just stumble upon a stunning waterfall or a perfectly lit scene. I guarantee that people are often photo shopped and edited and edited again.

I used to look at people who didn’t seem to have anything “wrong” with them on social media and wonder why I couldn’t be like that. Why I had to wear a Dexcom or an Omni Pod or have gotten no sleep before I took photos because of diabetes. I used to wonder how I could take such beautiful photos and when my next opportunity to “look cute” was. Sharing your diabetes with others is so important, because it gives you an opportunity to be real and authentic with others. That is something really special that we have the opportunity to do. How cool is that??

We have to wake up every day and make a choice. We can choose to look at social media through a different lens. We are all beautiful because we share our story with the world. I am not beautiful because I do or don’t look a certain way, or because I do or don’t take gorgeous photos. We are all beautiful because we are brave, we are strong, and we share our daily experience with diabetes with each other.

Remember, we are beautiful BECAUSE we’re different. We’re stronger, more independent, more outgoing, more caring, and more daring because we live with diabetes. No one can ever take that strength and beauty away from us.

Cheers to feeling beautiful and loving yourself for who you are! ❤️