The document discusses the author's journey pursuing their dreams and dealing with being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a teenager. This caused them to miss out on opportunities and spontaneity as they had to carefully plan everything due to their condition. They experienced mental breakdowns every couple years without realizing they needed support from others also dealing with diabetes. They are now pursuing their passion for media and the arts through school and feel successful taking the first steps after shifting careers multiple times.

1. Before now...
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2. Before I started the MCBS Program I was debating on which degree
program to focus on. There were so many options and I wanted to choose
the best one for me that would support my experience and would launch me
into the future to support my success.
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3. I had always thought I wanted to be singer on Broadway and focused my
efforts towards music and practice when I was younger. Even though I was
not at the piano everyday, I still wanted to try my best to focus.
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4. But then I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes as a teenager and my
dreams started to take the back seat. This was a really challenging time for
me and what’s worse was at the time, I did not know it. It was new and
different, I did not know anything about the condition and no one else in my
family had it. I decided I would moved forward with a can do attitude, l really
didn’t have a choice. I could embrace it or fight it.
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5. I can tell you that as the years went on I was so structured about the
diabetes that it started taking over my life. I missed out on fun and being
spontaneous because everything I did had to be planned. This was a
serious condition and as child I had to take it seriously. I did not think about
how it was impacting my mental state as I grew up.
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6. I started seeing a pattern of mental breakdowns every couple of years after I
turned 18. This was simply because I am an overachiever and I did not recognize
the signs that I needed support. This was not the kind of support you get from a
health counselor, but people who like me share in the condition. I did not have
friends or family members who were diabetic, and I was not involved with any
programs that supported diabetes to meet other people like me.
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7. Because of this condition I still worked on my craft but never took the risk of
leaving good doctors and insurance plans to help me live a grounded and
healthy life.
Because of that I missed opportunities to try and succeed. I was out making
my path, but never took the big leap.
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8. Because of that my life shifted into a different direction. I explored several
paths and tried everything before I settled on one thing. Finally, I made the
decision to take action in my life and create change that would impact my
future. And ever since I decided to pursue my passion for media and the
arts, I have felt successful just by taking the first few steps
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9. My true regrets come from the fact that I didn’t understand my condition
enough as a child to tell myself that even though I have diabetes, who says I
can’t fulfill my dreams. I am thrilled to see what’s next for me as I continue
this chapter of my life in school and finally having a real focus!
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