Quarantine & T1D

Hey there!

It’s certainly been awhile. Just like everyone, I am trying to adjust to the “new normal”. It’s very hard to do. I miss school a lot and all my friends.

If there is anything positive that has come out of all of this it’s that my blood sugar has been gorgeous! I have had time to focus on my diabetes and my stress levels have come down significantly. There is definitely some stress I’m dealing with whether it be with online school, not being able to go places, or not being able to see people. It’s a difficult time for everyone. Everyones safety and health is the top priority.

Having T1D, I have to be extra careful. My immune system is weaker than a lot of people my age. I get sick often. The coronavirus attacks your weaknesses. I haven’t seen my friends in months now (expect the ones that drove by my house on my birthday). It’s for the best, and I know that.

I have some tips, whether you’re T1D or not!

1. Change you’re routine.

I know this sounds weird. But, if you’re one to make your bed first thing in the morning, don’t do it right away. Go make breakfast first, go for a walk, get dressed. Sometimes the same routine can mess you up. If you change it up a little, it could really benefit you!

2. Get outside!

The best thing you can do is get out into nature. Of course not every day is going to be nice. There may be some rain, but on the sunny days make sure you get out and catch some rays. Being outside clears your mind and allows you to start fresh. The days are getting longer and warmer (especially here in New York). This is my favorite thing to do.

3. Exercise

This may be hard for some of us, certainly those who are used to going to the gym. There are a lot of at home workouts that are easy to do with no equipment. I have been following my schools “Total Fitness Log”. My legs were burning the next day but in a good way haha. Exercising allows you to get moving even from your living room!

I hope you are all staying safe and healthy. Please remember to keep your distance from others and wear a face mask in public. All the restriction that are in place are to save lives and keep those around us healthy.

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2019 ↝ 2020

December 31, 2019

2019 has been the BEST year ever. If you told me I could repeat any year, I would definitely choose this year.

In January, I got my first job at a boutique. February was a pretty quiet month, but that’s fine, it’s a good time to regroup and reflect. March I went to the city with two of my friends and then a few days after that, I went back in with my Bio class. In April, I broke the distance with my best friend and flew to England with my mom for my sweet 16. In May, I turned 16 and got my driving permit. June, I passed all my regents exams and finals, that’s really all that happened in June haha but that’s a big thing. In July I went to a class at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC and it was honestly a dream. I found my love for Interior Design. Also in July, I started drivers ed. In August, I finished drivers ed, Jess surprised me in New York, and I was in one of my best friend’s sweet sixteen court. In September, I started my junior year of high school and went to Montauk for my first time! October was another quiet month but it was a good time to relax and focus on school. In November, I passed my road test and got my junior license! Now comes December. This month I went into the city again and saw my idol, Lea Michele, perform live for the third time. It was the most amazing thing.

In addition to everything that happened, I started this year with about 150 followers on my Instagram. In March I hit 200 and did a giveaway. In the beginning of September I hit 300 and did another giveaway not realizing less than two weeks later I would hit 400 followers. Just two weeks ago I hit 500. That completely blew my mind. I still don’t even know what to say except thank you!

This year has brought me some amazing experiences, from meeting my best friend, to getting my license. I wouldn’t take back anything that has happened this year. Fingers crossed for 2020 being even half as amazing as 2019 was!

I hope you have a happy, healthy, and safe new year. Bring on the new decade! Cheers to 2020!

School & T1D

September 2nd, 2019

Tomorrow marks my first day of Junior year. Since it is such a big year for me and I am taking some harder classes, I am writing a few posts in advanced but will still be keeping updates on my Instagram and I will be posting current events on here as well.

Today I wanted to talk about how school is while having T1D.

I have heard stories about how diabetics hate their schools nurses and they don’t feel comfortable going to the nurse because they don’t have a good relationship with them. For me, that’s the complete opposite. My nurse (I am not going to say her name for privacy reasons) is so nice. She always looks out for me and she loves when I come in to see her. I actually go out of my way to find myself down there just to talk to her.

This year is going to be a bit different for me because every other day I don’t have off so I am still trying to figure out when I will be able to go down to see her and tell her my blood sugar, but I will figure that out. On the days where I do have off, I have off twice. That isn’t my favorite thing because the other days I don’t have anything so I’m not even sure when I will be able to eat and keep my sugars stable. It’s all going to take time to get used to especially since I am used to having off everyday. Once I get the hang of it, I won’t even realize that it’s different so it will all be ok.

For everyone who is also starting school or has already started, I wish you all the best of luck. Have a great school year! Happy Fall!

Make sure you stay up to date on my Instagram @meandmylifewithdiabetes!

The Best Surprise!!

August 16, 2019

On August 15th, 2019 I got the best surprise of my life.

My mom and I were driving into the city to fill out papers for FIT so I could take some more classes during the school year. I was very excited because I took a precollege workshop there in the beginning of the summer and loved it so much. We were driving in this time as opposed to taking the train which we had done the week of the workshop.

We left the house and we quickly dropped off a bag of clothes to be donated and then we were off to FIT. My best friend from England, Jess, who is also my pen pal hadn’t answered my Snapchats in almost two days and she had turned her location off so I thought maybe she was upset with me but I wasn’t sure why. Jess finally texted me and asked when we were leaving and I told her we had just left and we should be to FIT around 10:15. I didn’t think much of it except that maybe she lost her phone or it broke or something.

As we were getting closer and closer to the city, the time of our arrival was getting closer and closer. We were getting there at 10am instead of 10:15 so I was even more excited than I already was.

When we finally got out of the long tunnel we went down the street a little and my mom told me to people watch (I love doing that haha). I noticed we had gone around the same block a few times and then she pointed and said “Look! There’s Suzanne!” Suzanne was her friend from childhood who she said was visiting the city this weekend (Currently, I am still not sure if she is or isn’t lol). She parked the car and told me to run across the street to say hi so I did just that. When I got to the door it was not at all Suzanne but Jess, my best friend, and Tracy her mom. Jess gave me the biggest hug and so did Tracy!

I met Jess’ aunt and uncle who helped them plan this trip to surprise me. As I was hugging Jess I looked at the doorman and he said “awe that’s so cute” which makes me laugh. I am so grateful that they all did that for me. It means so much that Jess and Tracy would travel from England and John and Anne-Marie from Singapore!!!

It has been a very busy summer and school is starting soon. I have had many low blood sugars but I am going back to the doctor soon and she will make adjustments! Keep up with me on my Instagram @meandmylifewithdiabetes!

Long Time No See

June 23, 2019

Hey everyone!

So sorry I haven’t posted lately. Everything has been so busy recently and I haven’t gotten the chance to take five minutes for myself. Final exams are finally over and now it is Summer so that means I can finally get back to doing all of this!

I have a whole book full of ideas that I want to work on this Summer for all of you. Make sure you are staying up to date on my Instagram because that is where I will post first about anything exciting happening. I will also be working on my Facebook page for any of you that don’t do that whole Instagram thing, haha.

Get ready for a Summer full of fun and new things. Follow my Instagram @meandmylifewithdiabetes. Have a great week!!

“Anxiety happens when you think you have to figure out everything all at once. Breathe. You’re strong. You’ve got this.”

The Moment I Have Been Waiting For

April 18, 2019

Today is the day that I have waited for since the day I first spoke with Jess. If you don’t know Jess, she is my pen pal that lives in the UK. We got paired up almost three years ago and she DM’d me on Instagram asking if I was the real Meghan Penske. lol. Ever since that day, I knew I wanted to go to England to meet her.

Instead of having a Sweet Sixteen party, I will be traveling with my mom to England. We will first be visiting Jess and then we will be traveling down to London. The trip is a week in total and let’s not forget a complete dream come true.

There will be tons of pictures and videos. If you want to see some of them, check out my Instagram: @meandmylifewithdiabetes. I will also be creating a Highlight once I return so you can see them all the time! There will also possibly be a video of my whole trip; so look out for that.

As for my March Cleanse Challenge…I filmed and edited for countless hours. As I went to upload, a bunch of my content was erased. I have been trying to get it back but now I am having problems with my computer; saying I cannot upload because I have no space. I have plenty of space on my computer but I’m not going to worry about it too much. I got a suggestion to use IGTV and I looked into it. I think I may use that if I can’t upload my video through YouTube. I will absolutely update you all either way!

While in England, Jess and I will be filming a “Best Friend Tag”, where we ask each other questions and see how much we know about each other. There will also be a montage of England.

I am very excited to have an assignment over break. I know, not common for someone to want homework over a week and a half break but, in Italian class, we were assigned to bring a Flat Stanley with us wherever we go. We got to choose an Italian name for them and I chose Matteo for mine. I am so excited to bring him along.

Remember to stay up to date on my Instagram where you can see EVERYTHING I am up to when I travel.

Happy Spring Break!

March Cleanse Challenge

March 10, 2019

This March I am doing the March Cleanse Challenge. I talked about this a little while back when I shared what I would be posting this year.

I have been so excited to start this challenge and I am already seeing a difference only 10 days in. I have become more positive and open minded. I am always looking forward to what the challenge is for the next day.

Some of the “challenges” that I am taking part in this month are the following:

• make a gratitude list of all you are grateful for in your life.
• keep all 3 meals “phone free”.
• have a phone free night.
• do something creative.
• send an encouraging text to five people.

Those are only a few of the amazing things I am doing this month. I cannot wait to share them with you in my next video.

Next month I will be traveling to England which I am so beyond excited for. There may be a short post next month but it depends how busy I am since we are leaving during the middle of month and won’t return until the end and we have a lot to still do.

Until then, I hope you have an amazing rest of your month. Make sure to check out Me & My Life With Diabetes on Instagram and Meg Penske on Facebook. All of my updates will be on there including sneak peeks at what is to come and and first looks at my blog posts!