Back in middle school, I remember sitting at lunch taking out my sandwich and water bottle. I watched as other kids my age took out their sandwich, juice box, gushers, and apple slices with peanut butter. I envied them. Being on a strict carb diet, I was only allowed to have about 30 carbs for lunch to maintain my blood sugar levels until dinner time. Day after day, my friends would watch me take out only my sandwich and eat it quietly.
One boy from my class began to make fun of me. He made remarks about how skinny I was. I weighed about 75lbs at the time. I was still trying to regain my weight after my entire incident of diabetic ketoacidosis. He used to call me anorexic. He told all of my other classmates that I was probably anorexic, and they all begun to look at me with eyes of sympathy. But I wasn’t. I was confident I wasn’t. It was not that I did not eat. It was that I had to eat within my carb ratio. Being the shy little girl I was, it was very difficult for me to stand up for myself and explain to the world why I did not have the luxury to eat as much as every other kid. I remained quiet.
Today, 6 years later, I have learned to stand up for myself. Anorexia nervosa is an extremely severe disorder. I should have stood up for myself in 7th grade, not only for myself, but for those who were actually battling anorexia. I hate when people throw out the phrase “Oh, you’ll get diabetes from eating that entire piece of cake.” I can only imagine what others feel like when they hear “Oh you’re so anorexic because you literally eat nothing.” We cannot be quiet. We must be loud.
Bullies exist everywhere. Most of the time, these bullies are only bullies because they are ignorant. Do not sit around like I did. Do not succumb to their ignorance. Stand up for yourself. Explain yourself. Let yourself be confident in your own identity.
I can proudly say that months later, I went up to that boy. I told him that diabetics are on a strict diet, especially when they are first diagnosed. I didn’t explain much. But I told him about my diabetes and insulin. Years later, that same boy came into my math class in high school. He told me that he had looked up what it meant to have type 1 diabetes and what it meant in terms of lifestyle changes. I had never been more proud of myself for building the courage to speak up. If we don’t speak up, then who will? If we don’t raise awareness, then who will? Change lies within us and only us.
Keeks' Corner 