Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Letter Writing Day

Dear Younger Self,

You’re young now. Life is carefree, for the most part. High school is scary, but you’ll make it. Don’t let those popular kids make you feel bad about yourself. Most of them will end up pregnant before they make it out of high school. Or they’ll end up on drugs.

Take some chances. Life isn’t nearly as black and white as you sometimes think it is. Remember that there’s a big world outside of your hometown. You’ve not seen it yet. But you will. And you’ll enjoy it. Pick a career path that will lead you away from home, not back home. Home is nice. But there is so much you can do if you’ll just broaden your horizons.

Know that there are others with diabetes out there. You don’t know them yet. But you will. Seek them out. Having someone who understand will make your world a better place and open you up to opportunities that you can not even begin to imagine. Diabetes can be rough sometimes, but don’t ignore it. Test more often. And don’t be so scared of an insulin pump. It will make your life a thousand times easier.

You like to play it safe. I know you well. Just a tip, sometimes safe isn’t always the best path to take. Push yourself. Do things you think you can’t. And don’t ever let diabetes hold you back.

When you’re in college, don’t stop going to the doctor. Test, test, test. Once a month is not often enough. And don’t stop giving yourself all of your insulin. It’s damaging. Sure, you want to be like everyone else (who doesn’t?), but you’re causing your body damage. And since I know you want to live a long and healthy life, you need to remember that a 12.1 A1c isn’t going to get you long and healthy. The sooner you get it under control, the better off you’ll be.

Most of all, remember to find yourself. It’s important to learn who you are while you’re young so you can decide what you want out of life. Your friends are wonderful, but you don’t have to be just like them. You can be yourself. Just like the great big eclectic mess that you are. And that’s just fine.

Signed,

Your Future Self

7 comments:

Vivian said...

Loved this Cara! You are a beautiful mess. :)

Mike Durbin said...

Nicely done, Cara!

Anonymous said...

Great entry! It is hard to see it when the kids are young. Forwarding your entry to my DD. Thank you,
D.

Pearlsa said...

Love it

The DL said...

This is so great! I wish we could have gotten these letters years ago, but at least now we are in better control!

Katie said...

Great post with lots of good advice!

meanderings said...

Well, we like you just the way you are (OMG, I sound like Mr. Rogers).
Good letter with some great points.