About Me

Hi! I'm Allison (aka Alli). I am 16 years old and have been living with food allergies since I was born. In fact, when I was born, I was covered in eczema because I was allergic to everything my mom ate while pregnant with me. It wasn't until months later that I was diagnosed with food allergies. When my mom had trouble feeding me the doctor directed her to an allergist, and I've been with the same allergist ever since! We discovered then that I am allergic to milk, eggs, beef, peanuts, lamb, sesame, carrots, strawberries, and nuts.

I'm a normal teenage girl, but in September of 2012, I started this blog as part of my Girl Scouts Silver Award. I wanted to not only raise awareness for food allergies, but help those with food allergies really understand how to live successfully with them. It is possible, my brother and I have been doing it for, well forever! My little brother Peter also has food allergies, and he's allergic to everything I am (except for the carrots!) We have gone through the hard times together and have learned how to help each other out in the process. 

But my life doesn't completely revolve around my food allergies. Even though I have to worry about them every day, I am a normal teenage girl! I love to hang out with my friends. I love to act and have participated in multiple school shows and in different productions in community theaters. I am a varsity cheerleader and I play the trumpet in my High School's Wind Ensemble. I also LOVE to sing. Ask anyone that knows me. They'll tell you I barely ever stop! Along with my little brother, I have two older sisters that are off at college and two loving and supportive parents. I also have a large extended family with over 50 first cousins! I love being with my family and friends, and I don't know what I would do without them! In 2013, I became a representative of FARE by being a part of the Teen Advisory Group, and hope to continue more with it in the future.

So you see, I am a normal girl that carries out a normal life. But food allergies really have affected the way I look at myself and the way I look at others. Because of my food allergies, I've discovered who my real friends are. The people that completely understand or at least try to understand, they've become my best friends! But when someone could care less about my allergies, I know its better to just walk away. With this blog, I hope to help others see that they can live with food allergies and still do everything in life that they want to. I know that's exactly what I've been doing! Please feel free to ask any questions by emailing me at allergyalli@gmail.com, commenting, or visiting my Facebook page (facebook.com/allergyalli).
Thanks for reading!

-Alli