My name is Julia Andrews. I'm fifteen years old and I live in San Antonio, Texas. Throughout my life I've always searched for ways that I could help people, and I've always wanted to make a difference in the lives of people surrounding me. However, I never could quite find a way to make as big of an impact as I had hoped to. I've always enjoyed your show, and I've noticed how involved you are in charities and it has inspired me a great deal. I want to be like you when I grow up. I want to be able to help others and do it in a fun way, and I want to make other people's dreams come true. I'm writing you today to ask you to please help me with a cause that's close to my heart; the cure for diabetes. If you could take the time to read this I would be more grateful than you could possibly understand. I've been a big fan of the Jonas Brothers my whole teen life. They helped me pull through some of the hardest times I've ever dealt with, and their music has kept me sane. I was diagnosed with alot of problems after a big move halfway across the country from my home in Columbus, Georgia. I wasn't happy at all and honestly I had no idea how I was going to make it through. I quickly learned that everytime I put in a Jonas Brother's CD, I would smile instantly, dancing around my room without a care in the world and it's almost as if every problem I had melted away through their music. I became attached to them and they became my favorite band of all time, and of course they still are. They're just great, inspiring boys. My favorite member of the band was Nicholas Jerry Jonas, the second to the youngest of their family. Through being such a big fan of his, I started learning about a cause that meant alot to him personally, which is diabetes. Diabetes is a disease where your body either isn't producing insulin at all, or it isn't making it correctly... and there is no cure. I learned that Nick had been diagnosed with diabetes in November of 2005 at thirteen years old. I instantly felt attached to the cause, wanting to make a difference in his life the way that he has made one in mine. I began researching and absorbing information on the subject, and as time passed I grew more attached than I would have ever expected. On February 16th, 2008, I decided to take my interest in the cause a step further and created a site that supported research. Several weeks before I decided this, Nick wrote a song about his diabetes called A Little Bit Longer, and I decided to turn to that song while searching for the name of my site. I was particularly drawn to one line in the song, stating "You don't even know," while talking about people having no idea what those diagnosed with diabetes are dealing with. I decided that YDEK would be the perfect name for the site and I began working on it. Over time, the connection between me and the cause has only continued to grow. I can't explain my need for helping. It's no longer just about Nick. I've started hearing stories other kids have sent me, and I've read more over the topic on the internet. Every story, every article, and every e-mail I recieve on diabetic topics draws me in, and honestly a lot of the time they leave me in tears. In a way YDEK has become my life. It's given me purpose and has taught me to fight for what I believe in. My dream now is to be on your show because I want to have the impact that I've been striving for all along. If I have the chance to come on your show, I'll be able to reach out and ask for more people to donate to research than I ever could on my own. By having the chance to be on there, word about the site would spread and maybe I could finally start opening up a site store and official webiste like I've wanted to since the site began. Diabetes is spreading rapidly, and is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. The time to act is now. So many people are suffering from it and I really want to help. I'm working as hard as I can and it's almost all I think about lately. I attend all dinners, events, and award ceremonies for the American Diabetes Association that I recieve invites for. I've talked to the principal at my high school about organzing a school walk, I'll be signing up soon for the Tour De Cure and for the 2010 Diabetes Expo in my city, and I'm already working towards putting my allowance into my account for the Step Out Walk coming in October of this year. I spend hours on YDEK, hoping that I'll affect someone and make them want to help as much as I do, and trying my absolute hardest to spread the word as much as I can. People don't really believe that I can do this as much as I'd like for them to. I'm a person that gets determined about something and I go all out to accomplish it. People may sign the petition and tell me I'm doing a good job, but I can tell that I'm being doubted by almost every one of them. No one believes that someone my age is going to actually impact anyone that's as famous as you are. I've been told so many times not to get my hopes up, but I don't listen anymore. I know what I want, and that's help from you. I refuse to stop working on this dream until I get somewhere with it. If it takes a really long time, that's fine. If it doesn't happen at all, well then at least I spread word about the importance of supporting research through the project. I'm going to continue to push myself to help. And most of all, I'm holding on to hope. I'm holding on to hope that some day you'll read this and allow me to meet with you, and I'm holding on to hope that there will be a cure someday and I'll be able to say that I did my part in finding it. Without hope, I won't get anywhere. But I believe that if I truly hold on to the hope that I currently have, that some way or another I will impact those who need hope as well. Finally, I want to thank you. I want to thank you for being such an inspiration to me and for just being such an amazing person in general. You help so many people, and so many people look up to you. If you're reading this, I want you to know that you're a big part of the motivation and inspiration behind this site because of how much you care about people other than yourself. If you can't help me, that's okay, because in some ways you already have. You've given me the inspiration to keep pushing towards my goals. However, if you can I would consider it a blessing and it would mean the absolute world to me. Thank you for your time.