March 3, 1993. I was 4 and a half years old. My parents were worried. I'd been sick for too long and continually got worse. Vomiting, thirst, excessive urination, extreme weight loss. I was wasting away.

March 3, 2010. I'm 21 and a half years old. I'm still diabetic, but I'm not wasting away. I have no major complications. I have to say that seventeen years ago, as a tiny four year old, I had no idea what diabetes meant. I certainly didn't foresee seventeen years with a chronic illness that takes up every moment of my life.

It's strange to know that seventeen years have gone by now. Yesterday doesn't feel much different than today. It's more the accomplished feeling that runs through me when each D anniversary passes by.

When I wake up on another anniversary, I know that I've made it through another year. It's another year that I've fought hard against this disease. Another year that I've succeeded in maintaining my mental health. Another one that I didn't develop any big complications, even if there have been scares along the way.

There's also a piece of me that hates these anniversaries. Even with the accomplishment and the pride that I feel, I also know that it's another year of my life that has taken a toll on my body. It's another year that I had to spend moments literally fighting for my life. The fear, the disappointment, the constant emotions that rise and fall with my blood sugars.

I hate that I have to go through these days. I hate that I've spent 80% of my life with a chronic disease. I hate that I can't remember before these seventeen years...I don't know what it's like to not take an insulin injection, to not check my blood sugar, or to not wonder if my blood sugar is out of range.

But that pride overwhelms the hate. It's one day of the year that I get to say, "take that diabetes" and really mean it. Look at me, diabetes, look at what I've done despite you in the last seventeen years. I'm still the one in control here, even when it feels like you're kicking my butt. I'm in control because I get to celebrate another year that didn't knock me to the floor and keep me there. I kept getting up.

I'm hoping to celebrate tonight. I desperately want a good meal and a piece of cheesecake. I may even have a margarita...or a strawberry daiquiri. Because today, I'm happy and healthy despite this disease. Today, I'm a success. No matter what my blood sugar is or how the A1c turns out, I'm a success with this disease.