i am 15 and have lived with diabetes for a fair few years now. when i say i have lived with diabetes, it makes it sound like i choose to and that it is a person. the reality is that it is me. full stop.

when people first meet me one of the first things i say is that i am diabetic. if they react badly do i really want to be friends with them? if they shrug their shoulders and say "so what?" they are the people i want to know and get along with.

When somebody says that they are diabetic and are adults people instantly get the impression i am incapable of moving, but i am certainly able to eat. This isn't a totally a bad thing but when it comes to things like work experience it becomes a pain.

When i applied for my work experience placement i put down 3 warehousese. no problem. i got turned down by all my first choices so i got an additional form to put down my further choices as well as a list of all the places still availiable. Near the bottom of the list was one of the warehouses i had in my first choice. i phoned up and asked the person in charge of it all why it was still there. they replied back saying, and i quote. "you have certain health conditions".

i have no problem about people judging me in there mind, but when they make decisions for me, that is another story