Why me?

I've been relatively healthy my entire life. No broken bones, no major injuries. So when I was diagnosed with T1D, I kept asking myself, "Why did this happen? Why did it have to be me?"

But that's when I realized, everybody struggles. It’s not just me with a physical illness. Everybody is fighting a battle you know nothing about, whether it's a family issue or a personal challenge. This just happens to be mine.

After all, I'm a part of the generation that went through three years of COVID. When the COVID first hit, it was only my first year studying in the US, it had just been 6 months. At first we were told not to return to Korea for spring break. So my friends and I, just 6th graders, attended a SSAT camp with ninth grade seniors as it was the only camp available on a short notice. We solved a few math problems, but mostly just had fun being together.

Then suddenly we got a message from school telling us to return to our home country as soon as possible. I remember going back to school that day to get my passport, having only 30 minutes to pack, and catcing the earliest flight back to Korea. Afterwards, classes were all online, sometimes even at 1am to match time zones across the world.

During COVID, life begind the mask.

Even before that, there was my time in China.I went there in preschool, not knowing any Chinese. But as the days went by, I learned. I remember riding on the back of my babysitter's mootcycle to playdates, learing to cross the street when everybody crossed, even if the light was red, because following the group was sometimes the safest way in some parts of the world. I learned how to order food at the resturants and helped my mom buy groceries using the fruit names I had learned from school. I figured that although there are challenges, eventually there is a way, and I can survive.

I've been adapting and overcoming my whole life. So I decided to take it in that my T1D diagnosis is just going to be another challenge, eventually there will be a way.

Preschool days in China.