From first glance, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome looks like a disease that doesn’t let you escape your dreaded middle school years, it’s a lot of unwanted zits, weight gain in awkward places, and still learning how to deal with your period.

But closer up, it’s a lot more than a few minor symptoms. When you learn that you have PCOS, you also learn that if you don’t figure out a way to deal with the minor symptoms PCOS can snowball into these major complications: type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, infertility, endometrial cancer, depression and anxiety, and the list could go on and on.

But instead of complaining and dreading the fact that I’ve been diagnosed with PCOS, I’d like to do my part in raising awareness for it by telling my story.

I’ve always loved the water, I was born with a natural instinct to jump into any bodies of water nearby and give my parents heart attacks. I learned how to swim very quickly and I told my parents that I hated soccer because I didn’t like to be hot and sweaty, it only made sense to join a swim team at that point. Swimming kept me in line, it kept me healthy and happy, but despite the everyday workouts and supportive teammates, I was still gaining weight. It didn’t make sense, I would compare myself to the other girls around me and cry. I was so frustrated because I didn’t have the perfect body that the other swimmers had even though I was eating the same things as them and putting in the same amount of work as they were.

My parents tried everything they could to help me, we went to nutritionists, we counted my calories, and we did extra work outside of swim practices, but nothing changed. It was frustrating, not knowing why I couldn’t accomplish what I wanted to accomplish no matter how hard I tried, so I gave up for a long time. Swimming fell down my priority list, I didn’t care what I ate anymore, and partying climbed the list of my priorities. It sounds really stupid, but I’m glad I did it because I learned that lifestyle just isn’t for me. I felt gross, irresponsible, and I never had my crap together. I noticed one day in the middle of all of this, in horror, that I had one chin hair growing.

I told my mom about my chin hair, almost in tears because I was so disgusted, and she immediately started googling. PCOS is what will come up if you google, “weight gain and chin hair.” We visited a doctor and after many blood tests, google was right, I had PCOS.

Although, I was relieved to have an answer after a lot of frustration, tears, and giving up, I knew it was going to be hard to change my lifestyle. I’m still working on it actually and the frustration still isn’t gone, but I’m happier.

I’m happier because exercise, eating healthy, and taking care of myself are priorities in my life again. I’ve learned a lot through PCOS. I’ve learned that friends that aren’t willing to accept the fact that you can’t go out for ice cream every day aren’t worth having, I’ve learned that my parents are the best support I could possibly have, I’ve learned that what people think of your body image does not matter in the slightest, and most importantly I’ve learned to never give up.

My goal in writing this is to raise awareness for the 1 in 10 women who are suffering through PCOS. My goal is to reach out to those who have never heard of it to educate themselves. My goal is to reach out to girls friends, family, and support system to let them know that they are so important. Most importantly, my goal is to reach out to them to let them know they are not alone and to never give up.

In honor of those with PCOS who think they can’t do it, who are embarrassed of their body, and use PCOS as an excuse for obesity, I finished a triathlon. It wasn’t easy, but it shows that if I can do it, anyone can do it, there’s no reason to be embarrassed of your body, and PCOS is not an excuse to sit on the couch and cry because you’re gaining weight. We have the power to do something about it.

Please share this to raise awareness, September is PCOS awareness month.