Back in February 2008, I started blogging for dLife. I'd written my own blogs before, but only on things like Xanga or Blogger or Facebook. It was never something that I could tally hundreds of people reading. And it certainly wasn't something visited by the very specialists themselves (by specialists, I mean each and every diabetic reading these posts).

When I first started, I thought I'd do fine. After all, I was a natural born writer. I loved to write. And diabetes seemed like an easy topic. But over the first months, I realized how hard it can be to put my diabetes life out there.

Not only did I experience the hardship of judging myself when I'd make a post, but I faced the feedback from anxious, angry, and often outraged readers. Some even going so far as to harass me or invade my own privacy. Those readers' comments and actions went straight to my heart over the first months. I felt alone, disgruntled, like I was doing everything wrong. On top of that, I felt like my privacy was no longer respected, which was a very scary thought.

But in the past year and a half, I've realized quite a bit how much blogging has changed my life for the better. It lets me know that I'm not alone and I'm not doing it all wrong. I've met some amazing people through this blog who have allowed me to email them, Facebook them, or call them. Others have become my online family (hey, Mousie!) who cherish what I have to say and understand that I may slip up.

Even with all the great influences that I've had through dLife, there's still a major piece of blogging that changed my life in an outstanding way. With blogging, I remind myself of those moments that are hard, that are exhilarating, and that are totally memorable. With diabetes becoming so ingrained in who I am, it's been easy over the years to forget the smallest pieces of this disease.

I can remember the major moments (like my first intensive management class, teaching other diabetics how to do injections by using oranges, my seizures, the fear from this disease, and even my father's diagnosis), but it's easy to forget the lows that interrupted dates or the thoughts that pass through my mind on a moment by moment basis. Blogging allows me to vent those moments, to lock them into my computer and the internet for as long as I want.

Blogging also keeps me accountable. Not only in the way that I consider my daily actions with this disease, but I consider the long term on a more regular basis. Without this reminder of how huge diabetes is (yet also how small), I can get behind on those day to day tasks that keep my management okay. But when I sit down and remember that I need to blog, I also remember that I need to log my blood sugars or develop a new exercise plan.

Without this blog, I definitely wouldn't be where I am today with my diabetes, my other conditions, or my life in general. I have no idea where I'd be...but I doubt it'd be as fun as it is now to know that certain readers are out there supporting me or to know that this blog allows me to share my individual aspect and learn from others' perspectives how tough or amazing diabetes can be.

Most importantly, this blog wouldn't be anything without you guys reading it and commenting. Even those that I've disagreed with or those that have taken things a bit too far, it makes blogging a totally real (albeit, scary) part of my diabetes management. It reminds me that others struggle at the same moments I do, that it's okay to be down, but it's also better to keep picking myself up off the ground and trudging forward. So here's to you!