This is my experience. Once I had the diagnosis, it finally gave me the answer to what I was looking for all my life up until then. I struggled wanting to know what was wrong with me? Why did I feel this way? Why did I behave like that? I felt so alone, isolated, and miserable. Once I received a diagnosis, and my doctor actually explained to me why, I started to look it up to see what she was talking about. The meds started to clear my head, the more I read, the more sense it made. Now I don't look at it as me being bipolar, rather, I look at is "This is what I have. This is my illness that I struggle with." Now that I know that, I can use that knowledge to stay on top of and better manage my symptoms.
Since that has been taken care of in some respects, I can now focus on what it is I want to do with my life, what are my likes and dislikes, and just getting to discover what makes me, me outside of the disorder.
I hope that helps and/or makes sense.
Good luck and please take care.