[Dewey]

Originally Posted by Nejeda

I'm in highschool, yeah go figure, right? I'm sixteen, ooh, another shocker, right? Well, I'll be a junior, and I feel like getting diagnosed at six years old forced me to grow up and become mature faster then I should have. I feel like I am miles above and beyond my peers. I sit and I feel like I'm observing them, looking in from the outside. And I feel like I can't talk to any of them about me, my problems, even how I'm doing. I don't know any other people with diabetes, my age or otherwise, so I don't know if this is normal. Is it normal for me to feel emotional and mentally more mature because of what I've been through?

This is totally normal, and I too, felt the same way. Though I didn't mind being a leader in school, it sometimes felt like I had to bear the weight of the world on my shoulders. I did well in school and like Laura said, got the "Oh, she's one of the good ones" treatment at times (lol).

All that aside, I think the hardest thing I endured during teen years was the loss of my dad (I was 16 at the time). It was difficult, cause each of us (in the family) was trying to cope in our own way. I let some things slide for about a year, but realized that I'd better get back on track, and fast.....so I did.

I think some of us are better equipped emotionally to deal with Diabetes, if you will....Are we more mature because of our Diabetes, or are we better able to handle Diabetes & life because we're more mature?