I’m Not a Food Allergy
I’ve received a lot of advice over the course of my life about my food allergies. Still, there is really only one piece of advice that really stands out for me. That piece of advice, although mundane and silly sounding, is as follows: Your allergies aren’t the most important thing about you. Don’t let them define you. While they are a part of you, they are not the only – or most important – part.
I know that this advice is nothing special, nothing unique, but, really, it’s true. Other people will frequently try to pigeonhole you into being the “allergy-kid,” and you cannot let them. You have to pave your own path, not letting anybody dictate it for you.
Your allergies are not the most important fact about you. They aren’t even an important fact about you. Sure, they’re important for safety and your general happiness, but they have nothing to do with your personality. Your interests, your hobbies, and your dreams are not controlled by your allergies. While sometimes, it might seem like your allergies are running and ruining your life, just understand they don’t have to.
You have to take matters into your own hands. Tell yourself that you will not allow your allergies to control you, and they won’t. True, they do place some physical restrictions on what you can and cannot do, but they don’t place a limit on your future. You can do whatever you want to do in life, and you can be whoever you want to be.
Even when I get to my lowest points, even when I hate my allergies, I always know that they do not control me. I am ultimately in control. Whatever happens is my choice, not my allergies. Especially as I’ve gotten older, it’s become more routine to manage my allergies.
You have to remember, no matter what, that you are in control of your food allergies. You are not a walking, talking allergy. You are not a time bomb, ticking toward reaction. You are you.
My parents have been telling me that my food allergies don’t define me for years. So have FAAN, doctors, other friends with food allergies, and they are correct.
