Andrew Shore

Living with T1D can be an extraordinarily difficult with many ups and downs (literally and figuratively). This disease has taught me more about my body than ever before-How to listen to it, manage it, and most importantly love it despite its faults. I have experienced the anxieties of having lows in the most unfortunate places as well as the annoying highs bringing the mood swings, exhaustion, headaches, and of course the excessive peeing. Despite being diagnosed at 12 years old, which I always believed was horrible since I had the time to “live a life” without T1D, I like to pride myself on the fact that I have not let it stop me from living a successful life. I graduated from high school, college, and with my masters where I obtained my MSW. I know work in the public education field as a middle school social worker as well as an outpatient therapist in the private sector. I have been able to go on long hikes (despite the anxiety of having a low in the middle of no where), travel all over, experience the “fun” of college life, and partake in many concerts since playing the clarinet all throughout my childhood up until my senior year of college. Looking back, I see all that I have done and experienced knowing that diabetes was always apart of those memories. It has been that constant worry in the back of my head- always planning for the “what ifs” that each T1 diabetic must think about when getting ready to leave the house. Despite this disease sticking with me for the last 16 years and 2 months, I have prevailed and learned to love myself and my faults. Diabetes has motivated me yet challenged me. It has, in many ways, made me stronger through many humbling experiences. And most importantly it has made me realize that no matter what this disease throws at me, there is still a life to live and countless opportunities to take advantage of. T1D sucks but we are warriors with a purpose and a message: we can do anything others can.