You didn't mess up, in my opinion. Following diagnosis, I went 8 years without a flair. When it finally happened, I was completely blindsided and realized I knew very little about UC and how to manage my body. So going a year (while you are healthy, no less!) doesn't seem like a big bad mistake to me. People have already given great advice, but I wanted to tell you that it's okay. Everyone's flares are different and UC varies a lot. It's good to listen to people's stories on this sub, because it's hard to find people who understand what UC is like, but please don't doomscroll and assume that every bad thing you hear about will happen to you. Hang in there!