Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. We should all be so lucky.

After looking at my most recent headshot (thank you Tara Polcaro), I started to think: if someone was going to write a caption under my photo, what would it say? And how would I feel about that?

Would they say I’m an advocate? I’ve been involved in a lot of diabetes advocacy over the last few years, so I think that would be okay. But… would I feel I’m the kind of advocate someone says I am? I don’t know.

Would they say I’m kind? Being kind is a big deal, especially these days. Treating someone like they matter is important. If someone would say I’m unkind, that would hurt. I would try to fix that about myself.

Would someone think I was worth knowing? Should I care if someone thought I was worth knowing? I care if you want to be friends, or if you want to talk about an issue together. If you don’t, then I guess you don’t think I’m worth knowing anyway.

It seems I have a lot more questions than answers.

I’m at a point in my life and career where I care more about substance than about recognition, more about the kind of person I am than about the accolades. I never imagined I would feel this way about things, but here I am.

I’m not one of those people who says, “Screw what anyone else thinks… it’s what I think that matters!”. Really, both opinions matter. I need to be self-examining enough to know if my heart is in the right place… vulnerable enough to ask for help when I need it… strong enough to listen when criticism is shared.

And smart enough to recognize when people are full of shit. Just thought I’d add that in.

In the end, I have to be happy with who I am; and continue working to be the kind of person I want to be in that caption.

Truth be told, I don’t really like the idea of being framed. Like my diabetes, the definition of who I am changes almost daily. I’m okay with saying my caption should change constantly. What matters is if I’m headed in the right direction, wherever that might be.