I get it. It's easy for me to get sucked into the one, big, hairy truth of my life, which is that I live with ulcerative colitis. Outside of my family, it's the longest thing I've ever known, spanning more than 20 years of my life on this Earth. And so much of what I do is due to UC - the speeches I give, the podcasts I go on, the articles I write for The Mighty. I'm so grateful for the opportunities that UC has given me, despite all of its hard parts. I love raising awareness and (hopefully) helping someone else feel less alone.
However, sometimes I do need to take a step back and remind myself of all that I am that isn't related to UC. I need to remember the things that I do and believe it and identify with that have nothing to do with my gut. Does UC maybe sometimes insert itself into those identities? Of course, but I'd have them regardless if it did or not.
So let's make this fun. Take out a piece of paper, and write down numbers one through 10 on one side. Then continue reading and make your own list along the way of 10 things that you are proud to be that aren't IBD-related. Ready . set . go!
So tell me . what's on your list?