PHEW! I can't believe it's already so far into summer. I just finished my first year of law school, and I seriously can't believe I actually made it. This has been the most challenging academic situation I have ever been in. Once again though, life wouldn't be normal without diabetes trying to pop its head into my life. Last semester during my finals, I had kept a juice box on my desk, just as I have been doing for the ten years plus that I have had diabetes, as if for whatever reason I went low, I could just sip some juice and be on my merry-test-taking way. As these were my first law school finals, I was EXTREMELY nervous as I had never just typed through a 4 hour test before. I had no idea what to expect, and the last thing on my mind (sadly) was my diabetes. Pulling the juice box out of my purse, and placing it on my desk, invited a barrage of questioning from the test procter. They told me juice was not allowed on my desk, only water. I was so embarrassed, as all of my colleges were watching nervously, wondering why I was being harassed over JUICE. I was so angry and embarrassed, but I knew I just had to stay calm and focus on my tests. Immediately after that test, I went home and researched what protections I had. My parents have always had an off hands approach to my diabetes care, so I never knew of all of the state and federal laws that protect us as diabetes. First, I was shocked to learn that diabetes is technically considered a disability. Then I found the beauty of a 504 Plan, and other tools that could help me on test days. Check here to learn more about a 504 Plan. As someone who has had diabetes for many years, I STILL hate asking people for help when I'm low. I don't want to be someone who, "takes advantage" of the system, but after I received the proper documentation, I was able to have juice on my desk during my next test, and thankfully I didn't even need it! :) On another note, I have a new obsession and her name is Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. I cannot believe I didn't know that Supreme Court Judge has T1!! Diabetes Forecast Magazine just did a GREAT interview with her, that I highly recommend. For my younger readers, I recommend clicking here to learn more about her. A constant theme of my blog is how sometimes we can feel so alone, but just hearing of all the esteem people in our world who face the same issues as I do, who also keep tubes of glucose tabs in various locations, who learned to practice giving shots to themselves in the hospital, the initial signs of getting diabetes...all of these stories help us all connect and remember, we truly aren't alone. We have every opportunity to take this card we've been dealt and still be able to achieve all of our dreams. I look forward to completing more of my own. :)