So this is me, Hollie.

1 year, 10 months, 14 days, here I lay unbeknown to my family; I had diabetes. 16 years, 1 month, 28 days; still diabetic. It is something that I have and will probably have for the rest of my life, I except that. And yes, of course I get angry and upset and think 'why me?' but then 'why not me?'.

I'm taking my GSCE's and stress is high, my HBA? Not amazing. The doctors talk and say they understand just 'do some more blood tests', 'do some more blood tests', 'could you do some more blood tests?!'. I feel like I'm a pressure cooker, about to explode. I hate the fact that they think they understand, that they think it's so simple. They have no idea about what it's really like to be diabetic, you can't read a text book and possibly understand how somebody is feeling. Each time now I sit in there, their words drift around the room but I do not listen. I have the stress of my exams, the stress of teenage life and to top it off, diabetes.

Although don't get me wrong without the diabetic clinic I probably would be lost. Without them my family would have never understood what I have and how to care for me when I could not. I think that the clinic is a real help but when you're at this age in life it is an aggravation and a nuisance, you just don't have the patience to deal with things when other stuff is going round you in a blur and your life is changing so quickly. The hardest thing is that you HAVE to make time for diabetes, even if you want to ignore it.

I also get upset by my injections. Most people would be like 'oh that's natural because needles aren't very nice', but it's not that. I can quite happily stab myself with a needle; the upsetting part is what it does to my body. No matter what I do I'm left with bruising on my stomach, arms and legs. I've tried changing area but the amount I have to inject doesn't help and you can hardly pull down your trousers in the middle of the high street, can you? And because of this I'm left with bruises, something that I hardly want to parade about with in the summer in a bikini.

I think that it is important to understand how diabetes affects every person differently. For example when I am low I feel shaky, disorientated as if I am floating when I walk, but for others the affect may be different. This is a scary feeling as you feel as if you may faint at anytime, or though, to be honest at the moment I am normally high which doesn't have so many symptoms except a sickly feeling.

There are so many more things about being a diabetic, people may feel its moaning, in a way it is but it's hard to explain to someone who is not in my situation. I think that diabetes is not something that stops me from doing things and I won't let it. I think that just because I'm diabetic, it doesn't define me, there are so many other things that make me and I hope that I am not judged because of what I have.

Thank you for having the time to read this, a brief summary, but I hope it gives people an idea of what I go through.