Ep.1/ Breaking Out!
After one tragic bite of a peanut M&M cookie, my life was immediately shoved into a bubble at the ripe age of four. I may not have known the right answer to 2 + 2, but I did know how to carefully observe what my friends at the table packed for lunch. I may not have been able to read a full sentence, but I knew how to take Benadryl like a champ. I may not have had the strongest vocabulary to describe my emotions, but I knew the fear of dying.
Growing up with food allergies is not what I would call a glamorous lifestyle. You live in a world of the same “safe” things. The same “safe” restaurants, friends’ houses, snacks. “Safe” meant carrying around your own food for a fieldtrip because they plan to eat something that’s dangerous for you, missing out on class activities with food because being placed in a different room is the only “safe” option your teacher could think of, having to dodge flying almonds on your bus ride home (true story), and rarely ever getting to celebrate your friend’s birthday in class with cake or cookies. At a young age, I hated not being able to do the fun activities that so rarely came around. Exclusion for your “safety” at the convenience of others becomes your normal.
After being diagnosed with so many new allergies in February of 2021, life felt very limiting. I could no longer enjoy what used to be my favorite meals, restaurants, or snacks. I found myself choosing to skip meals rather than face the difficulty and fear of finding something I could eat. About a year after this diagnosis I began to get back into healthier habits. Then, I started my freshman year of college. I quickly realized exclusion for other’s convenience was no different in college. Not being able to safely eat in either of the dining halls with a meal plan you’re required to pay for. Having to constantly fight for the basic accommodations needed to keep you healthy and alive. Hearing administration degrade the severity of your condition because they just simply do not understand it. Struggling to educate unwilling coaches to make sure you are well fed during tournaments and dealing with unsupportive teammates. Struggling with housemates being sanitary in common spaces and respecting your personal kitchen utensils and food. From an institution that preached inclusivity and diversity, I was not seeing these moral (and legal) obligations in practice and I was suffering mentally and physically from it.
Though the struggles have been nothing short of greuling, I have learned to find my voice along the way. I want this blog to be a place for other food allergy sufferers to find advice and information from someone who really does get it and a place for those who may not even know what a food allergy is to gain some sort of understanding and awareness. From college to dating to sports to legal rights, I want to share my perspective and lessons I had to learn the hard way with you all.
