Today is the day – World Diabetes Day (WDD), which also happens to be the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best one hundred years ago.

Today is the day to wear blue, the official color of diabetes awareness, and use the blue circle as a symbol of unity within the global diabetes community.

Today, and every day, I (as well as millions of others) do my best to live a life uninhibited by diabetes. It isn’t always easy, but the resilience, knowledge, and support it has unwittingly introduced to me has shaped me into a person who has diabetes, as opposed to a person who is controlled by diabetes.

Today, I celebrate my own strength as well as that of our community, and take time to reflect on this year’s theme: access to diabetes care. I acknowledge my privilege in having an abundance of that, and I am angered when I think about the millions of people around the world who lack it. As I look to tomorrow, and all the days after WDD and NDAM, I greatly look forward to and anticipate the day when medicine, technology, support, and care are all made available to the people with diabetes who need them.