Tuesday, May 15, 2012

D-Blog Week, Day 2: One Great Thing

Yesterday, I mentioned on Twitter that I've never heard anybody say that they love having diabetes.  I did have one excellent response to the comment.  Basically, the person responding said diabetes has forced them to "keep fit and make healthier choices".  I definitely agree that is an upside!  I am also sure that most of us, given the choice, would NOT choose to continue having diabetes if given the opportunity to ditch it on the side of the road somewhere.

So what's one great thing that diabetes has done for me?  Well, it pretty much forced me to become a blogger.

In 2006, the word "blog" was pretty new, and the word itself made me gag a little.  I just didn't like the sound of it, much like I hate the words "eyesore" and "moist" and "sportswear".  Having a Livejournal account for years, I was much more accustomed to the phrase "online journal", wherein you could go and type whatever was on your mind.  Blogs were becoming a thing, and at the time, diabetes management was becoming a thing for me.

I wasn't long out of college, and I never had any friends with diabetes.  I was feeling frustrated and struggling with depression.  I turned to the internet to see what people were saying about diabetes and what kind of message boards were out there.  It wasn't long until I discovered the burgeoning Diabetes OC.  There weren't so many of us back then, and it took another couple of years for tweeting to really catch on.  Yet I found a little piece of something on the interwebs, people with smiling faces and joyful lives who also had to pause to check their blood glucose levels.  They were bloggers who struggled and laughed, who shared good times and bad with diabetes.

Finally, I found a place to share my own thoughts on living like this.  I do hope I've found a way to help some of my non-diabetic friends understand what it's like.  Without writing this blog, where would I talk about the guilt-ridden nuances that ride on top of a heavily frosted cupcake?  Where could I post pictures of my Dexcom read-outs and make jokes that involve the song "Love Rollercoaster"?  Blogging is a one-stop-shop for me to talk all things diabetes.

Being a "blogger" became less about using a stupid-sounding title, and more about regularly writing and speaking my mind.  

Blogging helps me connect to the various ins and outs of social media.  Knowing a lot about social media makes me feel like an expert, and using this expertise is something that I hope will land me a new job at some point in the future.

Not everyone I know can say they have their own dot-com web address.  Blogging makes me write and care about presentation.  Blogging makes me Tweet and start a Facebook fan page.  Blogging makes me curious about all the latest programs for managing all the social media in your life.

Blogging keeps me current.  Diabetes keeps me blogging.  It's not so bad for a word I never liked that much in the first place.  And sure, diabetes always keeps me on my toes, which is sometimes a good way to be, but I guess I am grateful that diabetes, burdensome as it can be, is one more thing that spurs on my passions.

I assure you this: if they cure diabetes in the next few years, well, I hope you like really personal blog updates, because what else am I going to talk about?

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:42 AM

    LIke you, diabetes turned me into a blogger, and led me to all you fine people. If they cure this disease, maybe we can all write a book and submit it to the Smithsonian. "The Strange, Dark Times of the Faulty Pancreas" or some such. We'll submit all of our now-worthless diabetes paraphernalia to be kept in the room next to the medieval torture rooms. Naturally.

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  2. This was a totally unique post and perspective and I totally appreciate it! You're a great writer, I'm sorry it had to be under the circumstances but I am glad I have come to read your blog-it really makes my day when I do.

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    1. Thanks, dear! Well, I've always been a writer. Writing is in my blood. To deny it is to deny a major part of myself, but this blog is pretty much the first place where I let personal writing matter to complete strangers. I put it all out there, and I hope that it comes back to me in karma or friendship or comments or whatever!

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  3. James J.3:23 PM

    Yeah..even a few years back I was never really a "social-one", but since reading blogs and FB posts and comments about diabetes,I really do enjoy what the DOC has offered me as far as communicating with others who are similar to me with the struggles (and a few triumphs)of maintaining ourselves. The friends I've made are very dear to me...and reading your blog gives me a different outlook and lift in a humorous way in dealing with a sometimes difficult life. Thank you for what you do!!

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  4. It's funny, because I think about my blog and what I post on it, and I often think, "I would be such a boring person if I didn't have the diabetes to write about."

    Great post!

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  5. oh hai, i got on LJ back in 2002! *LJ high five*

    i enjoy this online journal of yours! also, i dislike the word moist as well. :)

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  6. Anonymous7:01 PM

    I would love to read your "personal blog posts" when the d is cured!

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  7. Wow! What a unique answer! Love your blogging, keep it up! (and good luck with the job ;)

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