A year ago I began a new writing project. I started documenting my life as a diabetic after receiving the diagnosis in February of last year. It was going to be heartfelt and true, following the ups and downs of learning to manage my blood sugar, eating right, and getting more exercise.

It wasn’t that interesting.

I abandoned the project after a couple of months. Yes, I had new medicine. I take five pills every night, which is intrusive but not nearly as bad as many, many diabetics have. I poke myself twice a day to measure my blood sugar, but I don’t have to poke myself to take insulin or other medications. My numbers are almost always well within the range the doctor wants them to be.

It’s always a challenge to decide what projects to abandon, which ones just need to rest on the shelf, and which are worth making time for. I’m a full-time college student this semester, so time-management is of great importance. My first priority (after taking care of my family) is to make sure I’m prepared for class. It’s not perfect. Sometimes I skim a reading instead of scrutinizing it. I’ve turned in papers knowing that the citations weren’t quite right. I might end up with B’s or even a C instead of a perfect A, but I’m okay with that.

My fiction writing, unfortunately, has again taken a back seat. Hopefully, after certain things (like better housing) are in place, and I have a semester under my belt to figure out how things work, I’ll be able to balance it all.

Meanwhile, I’m fine with chucking the “My First Year as a Diabetic” project in the trash.