"People who live in difficult circumstances need to know that happy endings are possible."
-Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, My Beloved World
This past Monday, the honorable Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, paid Southern Connecticut State University a visit. The author of My Beloved World left me pleasantly surprised after hearing her speak. To be completely honest, her memoir was slightly dry in my opinion, but in person she was energetic, funny, and very interesting! I was not expecting to enjoy her interview as much as I did. It was interesting to hear her real voice after reading her words in the book.
Justice Sotomayor said many inspirational things to the audience on Monday, but one thing she said really stuck out in my mind: She made her type 1 diabetes seem like a positive thing. The average person would view this disease as something very negative that hinders his or her ability to succeed, but Sonia never let her diabetes stand in her way. In fact, she accredits some of her success to the disorder.
An extremely interesting idea she shared with us was that diabetes has helped her in the court room. Sotomayor explained that with diabetes, she has to constantly pay attention to how her body is feeling in order to prevent her blood sugar from dropping too low. This skill of paying very close attention to detail has made her very aware in court. She pays close attention to what others are doing and saying, and Sonia says that this ability has helped her greatly in her career.
I never would have thought that diabetes could help her become a more diligent person. I have great respect toward people who can turn a bad situation into something good. If my pen runs out of ink I tend to act like the world is ending, so kudos to her for not letting unpleasant things get her down. I wish I was that kind of person. She seemed extremely genuine and humble, and it was a pleasure to watch Justice Sotomayor give us advice on how to succeed in college and life in general.
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