Is it already November? There are a few events going on this month that I'm part of and will plug below, but it seems like National Diabetes Awareness month will be more lowkey than usual this year. Probably due to ye olde election, and I say that in old timey speak because that's how I feel about watching this disaster of two dudes in their mid-seventies duking it out for leader of the free world. Outside of whatever happens on November 3, I want to remind you that people with Diabetes are an incredibly important voter demographic. If all the numbers are correct, nearly 10% of the US population lives with some sort of Diabetes, and that number is continuing to increase, both on the Type 2 and Type 1 sides of the coin. So, it's important that you know not just what your local representatives "say" they support, but what they vote on. You can actually check their voting record at GovTrack.us. One of my priorities for the next election cycle is to build a playbook for people with Diabetes to get more involved with their local representatives, and present talking points to inform them of how important it is that they vote for: 

Diabetes is a bipartisan issue. And in the United States, a chronic illness like Diabetes should not carry such a debilitating financial burden like it currently does. Change like this does not happen overnight, but in my opinion, 10% of the population is a statistically significant voter demographic, so the more involved we can be, the more we can impact change. Outside of that, November is also the start to the Holiday Season in the US. Thanksgiving and the Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year's/Etc Holidays are all centered around FOOD. This often presents challenges for people with Diabetes around menu planning, carb counting, not to mention uncomfortable commentary from family members (read: are you sure you can eat that?). So we're going to be creating some content and planning some exciting takeovers to help you navigate the holiday season with your CHEER and your DIABETES intact. That said, I'm married now, I'm 32, haven't been on a plane in 8 months and I killed over 60,000 clusterflies during the month of October. So I'm looking forward to winding down the end of 2020 to say the least. Be well my friends! Rob

This month we featured @chocolatediabetic and @savichahal! Savi shared her life as a college student at UC Davis with T1D while Miah opened up her pocket of London to our viewers and took us on a day in her life as a new diabetic diagnosed in the midst of a pandemic. Make sure you click their images to read more.

THIS MONTH ON THE POD:

Quality > Quantity this month! Check out our October Episode and let us know what you think about our new intro. 

While many of us have relaxed our quarantine and some are venturing out, there are still some amazing panels and online discussions happening. Be on the look out for these:

Together T1D hosted by Lauren Bongiorno to kick off Diabetes Awareness Month in style on 11/5! Lauren is teaming up with some awesome sponsors to put on an epic virtual party and feel a part of something much bigger. Make sure to mark your calendar for this fun COVID Safe event. Free to attend but registration is required! Get your spot now!

Want to travel the world and never leave your house? Now you can! @PositiveOnGlucose is an International Diabetes Support Group! With members in different countries, English is the primary language but all are welcome! Weekly Zoom calls on Tuesdays at 7pm, Beirut Time. Slide in the DM's for the Zoom link.

A diabetes awareness month program! Talking about Diabetes Burnout, Time in Range, Diabetes Technology and more. Some familiar faces as panelists and Moderated by BlackDiabeticGirl herself, Kylene! Zoom information is in the graphic.