Why I chose dorm life

                                              ( yes this is my room and bed lol )

It is a decision that every type 1 has to make, where to live when at college. It is a hard one too I must admit. We think about the regular stuff like who is going to be there, what if I do not like my room mate, cost and needs, but as diabetics we must also think of safety, diabetes care, emergency help, and a list of other things. I personally chose the dorms because I knew it would work for me based off of the following:
1. I am surrounded by friends who know me and my diabetes and can help in an emergency vs. living in an apt by myself or with one other person.
2. Everything is close by life class and food at the dining hall and the convenience of a restaurant in my dorms helped.
3. We have officers who are emergency trained 24/7 in our dorm buildings to help if the need arises.
4. Cost is cheaper so I have more money for snacks and health insurance lol.
5. Community. ( not diabetic related but the friendships I have made are priceless)
6. Study groups easy to find and close to room if not in my room when needed.
7. If I forget something on my way to class like say a meter or even pump ( yep has happened after shower lol) I do not have far to go.
8. Health clinic in my dorm can we say convenience?
9. Great activities to attend like the theater productions or laser tag or my favorite is the dorm against dorm basketball and kick ball games.
10. and last but not least independence with security of knowing help is there if I need it.
These all can up in conversation with my friends and family when deciding what was best for me and honestly I would not change it.

Still here...........

You always here a diabetics first priority is Diabetes and it is always on our minds even when everything is going right. I had a wonderful day with amazing friends who always keep me smiling. I had a great day with diabetes did not have to do any tweaking or extra testing. I am sure all the stars lined up perfectly and all was right with the world. Even though all went great and I did not feel like a diabetic that day, and feeling normal diabetes still manages to say "hey I am here". How you might ask seeing all was perfect? well this is one of the pics and of course my pump "pinky" was right there front and center. Did this ruin the pic? no, did it change my thinking? no ( again diabetes is always on our minds behaving or not). It did none of that but there is no denying my diabetes even when I feel "normal" because I wear my pancreas on the outside. As you can tell I have no problem wearing my pump for the world to see (I mean it is almost like a badge of honor for the battle we fight daily) and that will not change (  great advocate conversation starter allowing one to spread the word), I am lucky because I have access to the greatest diabetes care possible with a pump and cgm and I will not take that for granted but it would be nice to have one day that I am not reminded of my diabetes.

No more excuses....

     

           I love college life, it is so full of independence and finding yourself. The spring is a time of renewal and since the warmer weather is here I am jumping back into my outside workouts. I am lucky because we have amazing walking trails behind the athletic complex and makes it hard for me to come up with excuses on why I can't workout. I am good at excuses I mean at first it was "still too cold" and then it was "no one to jog with" and then on to "what if my blood sugars act up?" These were all valid excuses but 1 by 1 the solutions came. Too cold? not anymore nothing less then 70 degrees now. No one to join me? That's what an I Pod is for duh! and then the diabetes what ifs. For starters on our trails there are 4 emergency post with call buttons so if I am ever running for a creepy zombie it will be okay cause campus PD can get there ASAP. But what about those pesky lows you know the ones I am talking about. The I tested before started and was great what the heck happened? Well My friend Mark and I came up with a wicked sweet plan. I call him before I start my run and tell him my intended route and when I am done I call him. If he has not heard from me within an hr. (it takes me 45 Min's) then he calls to check on me and if no answer he comes down and alerts the pd to run out and check on me. Genius right? Well it works and well if you ask me. We as type 1 diabetics must plan for all things and especially in college when you are away from the comfort zone of mom and dad and friends who were always there to pick up your not so on point diabetes care. I take my kit with me as you can see in the picture above and that works for me. I use a glucose tabs necklace to help if needed as well. I am learning that I can still be independent and safe at the same time. This was one of the bigger things I worried about but after putting the plan into action I have found that this could indeed be used by other diabetics in college. We all know that with parents that still like to be "all up in my diabetes" as my other T1 friend puts it, that in the end they just want to know that we are advocating and caring for ourselves. Also another solution would be to use the Talley gear belts or pump pouches which I would be all over if I were not the broke college student. So what do you use when you go out and about for your exercise routine?