Patrick Q

In honor of World Diabetes Day, I decided to throw myself a little birthday event. I invited all my friends and their friends to join me for dinner and bowling. Everyone had to wear blue.

A small group of my closest friends gathered for Italian food at a tiny local restaurant. We told stories from high school, laughed till we almost cried, and all proudly wore our blue shirts. We had a group of people point out our shirts, so my friends boldly told them the story behind the color.

The bowling party began as an event for my college Diabetic Echoes group. I made a poster and had a container for donations. Our blue shirts were supposed to make us stand out.

Unfortunately, the wait at the bowling alley was ridiculously long, so we decided to find something else to do. We picked a game night at my apartment. Not ideal for World Diabetes Day recognition, but equally as fun.

A few more people joined our group, some wearing blue and others asking why we all matched. We played Catchphrase, Apples to Apples and Scategories. As we laughed and enjoyed a simple night of fun, I realized that this was one of the best ways to recognize World Diabetes Day.

Not only did I get to use diabetic words in Scategories, but I was celebrating my life and forgetting about diabetes. Sure I had to bolus for my food and treat a low, but overall, the night wasn't about how powerful diabetes can be. It was about how powerful I am in my life. And nothing can beat that.