During my Sophomore year of College, I was living with my parents at my childhood house in North Kingstown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Originally, I had planned to live on campus in a dorm, an experience I wasn’t able to have my freshman year due to having a deferred start to my college career until the Spring semester. However, due to the pandemic, and me being a local in their second year of school, I was unable to fulfill that experience. 

Though I was disappointed about this, I realized that it was probably for the better, as I started to develop the symptoms of a chronic illness. 

Since I was young, I’ve had a lot of health issues, mostly surrounding a chronic stomach ulcer I have dealt with since the age of nine. At first, I blamed my health issues on the possibility of a flare-up. However, I realized that the pain I was feeling was very different. 

Because of the health issues I had as a child, I’ve been on many different diets and, during my Sophomore year, was living as a vegetarian (which I had been for ten years), and with a lactose sensitivity. 

However, after months of pain and wondering, along with other symptoms besides a stomach ache – like sore throats, brain fog, and painful bloating, I was diagnosed with a severe gluten intolerance. 

While I am lucky and do not suffer from celiac disease (meaning cross-contamination isn’t an issue), I cannot eat any glutenous foods without having these painful symptoms. So when I was finally granted the opportunity to live on campus in the dorms during my junior year, living with my many food allergies was something I had to navigate, especially when it came to relying on the dining halls for my meals. 

The first thing that was important for me was to figure out what foods at the dining hall were safe for me to eat. In order to do this, I met with one of the University’s nutritionists, and she walked me through the dining hall and showed me all of the things that were safe for me to eat based on my nutrition and health guidelines. She also showed me the gluten free pantry in each of the dining halls with gluten free bread, cereal, and pasta options that would be available every day. 

Another essential for me having food allergies and living in a college dorm was a mini fridge. 

I know most people get mini fridges for their dorms in college, but I can express how essential they will be for people with food allergies. As much as I tried to eat at the dining halls, sometimes the meals would get repetitive, or it would be too late to go, and so I would need options. Many gluten and dairy free options of regular, everyday foods need to be refrigerated (such as bread), and so having my fridge was essential. On any given day, if you opened my mini fridge in my dorm, you would be able to find dairy-free yogurt and granola, carrots and hummus, and even cheese. 

Lastly, one of the ways I changed my life, not only to be able to accommodate my allergies while living in the dorms, but also just in my everyday life was really exploring the options available to me. Many of the places my friends would go out to eat would have gluten free options. I also tried to learn a lot more recipes to broaden my horizons when it comes to having such limited options. 

At the end of the day, no matter how many times I wish I didn’t have food allergies, they will be there. And honestly, it’s easier to work around the pain now more than ever, you just have to know where to look. 

Hi! My name is Liz Fusco and I am a senior here at URI double majoring in English and journalism. When I’m not writing blogs for campus rec you can find me working as one of the News Editors at URI’ student newspaper The Good Five Cent Cigar or working as the Vice Chair of the English Undergraduate Student Advisory Board. I love writing, reading, teaching dance and spending time with my friends, family and my dog Talullah.