Finding out you're going to be sick for the long-term can be devastating, but it's even worse when you're sick in college. College is supposed to be a time of finding yourself and experiencing new things, but after I found out about 3 weeks in to college that I had celiacs disease, my life did a dramatic 180. The whole college experience has been a lot more challenging, but these are my personal, mostly sarcastic, experiences with my managing the disease in college thus far.

1. Looking Presentable

There have been so many times that I have set my alarm extra early so I can eat something lite, do my makeup, and maybe even straighten or curl my hair. But that's all shot to shit now when I wake up every morning feeling like I have the stomach flu and my body tells me to stay in bed for those extra minutes. By the time I actually do get up, I have about 5 minutes to pick out an outfit, run a brush through my hair, and grab a gatorade to hydrate.

2. The Dining Hall

It's always a struggle going to the dining hall and inquiring to the oh so "knowledgeable" staff about their gluten-free options of the day. The one time I asked one the workers if she knew if the food she was serving was gluten-free and she looked at me like I was speaking another language and said "what is gluten?"

3. "Are you sure you can't have gluten?"

You know you're totally right! I'm just being so uptight and ridiculous about this whole thing so just hand me a slice of that pizza...NO, I really can't have gluten. Not that I don't want those delicious looking brownies, or that freshly baked calzone, but just thinking about what will happen after I eat it makes me sick. I don't need an EpiPen or anything but to make you understand, I'm unfortunately HIGHLY allergic to gluten.

4. Soggy Subsitutes

I've always loved bread, so ever since I found out I have celiacs, this is definitely one of the hardest things I've had to give up. *But what are you talking about, they make bread substitutes?* Yes, and while I have been able to buy and try them do you know how hard it is to "toast" a piece of gluten-free bread or a gluten-free bagel without being able to have a toaster in your room? I've tried experimenting with the microwave but that just leaves it tasting warm, yet soggy, and sad. I suppose I could eat these things cold or try to be a little more innovative, but what fun would that be?

5. Junk Food and Snacks

You know all of those countless snacks and goodies you just have laying around that you take for granted being able to have because they're so convenient for you to stock up on? Well I guarantee you that mostly anything you have in your dorm room that tastes good but is probably bad for you has gluten in it. I'm all about eating healthy things but sometimes it's nice to snack on something that doesn't taste like cardboard after you've had a long day of doing the bare-minimum in your classes. What gluten-free snack will it be tonight? The stale rice cakes or chips and salsa for the hundredth time?

6. Gluten-Free Snacks

When you do finally find some gluten-free options that almost taste like real food, PLOT TWIST, they're almost always twice the calories of the original version of the product and on top of that, they're usually twice the price. Being a broke college student is hard, but when you have celiacs, you can go from double digits in the good old bank account to negative in a blink of an eye.

7. Buying in Bulk

Another struggle with gluten-free snacking is when you actually can get a ride two or three times a month to the nearest grocery store (because you're a helpless freshman without a car) you instantly think that means that you have to stock up on every possible gluten-free option you see. I swear the last time I went to Giant, the contents of my cart were the equivalent of a mama bear preparing to hibernate for the winter. Then of course, buying in bulk always leads to uneaten food that eventually rots away like the rest of your patience when you've about had it with your gluten-allergy

8. Explaining what Celiacs is

According to the University of Chicago Medicine, Celiac disease affects 1% of healthy, average Americans. That means at least 3 million people in our country are living with celiac disease. So with it's unfortunate rise in the lives of Americans, you'd think more people would know what it is, but that's hardly the case. When people ask me what it is, I never mind explaining it to them but sometimes my delivery doesn't always come out the way I want it to. This one time I was talking to a cute boy in class (I know, surprise, surprise) and when I said I had celiacs, he thought I said "silly ass" and started to laugh, and that, kids, was the story of how I flirted with a boy.

9. So will you die if you eat gluten?

No Becky, I won’t die instantly but I will get sick and eventually just SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST if you keep asking me this question. But in all seriousness, consumption of gluten when you have celiacs is almost the equivalent of poisoning your body. It slowly destroys your intestinal lining and will lead to much more severe consequences for your body in the future if you continue to consume on a daily basis and don't give anything time to heal.

10. Life of the Party

"Um yes excuse me, I've noticed that the only alcoholic beverage you seem to be carrying tonight at this 'party' is Natural Ice, so I was wondering if I could opt out for the gluten-free option instead?" Okay this scenario never happened, and I'm not too keen on partying, but an unofficial, yet official must of the "full college experience" is to be able to go to a party or two without a care in the world. I guess the unofficial rule of having celiacs and wanting to partake in the party scene will forever be BYOB.

11. The Fine Print

The best thing is when you're in a rush and there's a huge line of people at checkout so you impulsively grab something you think is safe for consumption and head over to the line. After the person rings you up and they put your money in the register and hand you the change, you think now is a good time to make sure, rather than going by gut feeling. To be safe, you pull out your magnifying glass and read paragraph 5, subsection B of the ingredient list which clearly states “this product MAY contain traces of wheat" and you do nothing but hang your head in shame for the rest of the day.

12. CROSS CONTAMINATION

Silent, and sometimes hardly noticeable, but deadly. I don't know how many times I've gotten in line at a coffee shop or restaurant only to have to turn right around after looking up all the possible ways that anything I choose to order from there, even the gluten-free things, can easily be cross contaminated with other products containing gluten. Even to just have flour or some other gluten product in the air around the preparation area of the gluten-free product can be harmful. I'm seriously thinking about investing in one of those human-sized hamster balls at this point.

13. The Power Within

I used to have no will power when it came to what I ate and when I ate it, but ever since my diagnosis, I've had to take the gluten-free diet very seriously because in some cases it's can be life-threatening. It makes me sad to think about all of the food i'll be missing out on for the rest of my life, but I do have a pretty good support system around me. I have friends who will order out food that I can't have that looks absolutely AMAZING, and they'll eat it right in front of me, but they always make a point of saying how awful it tastes even though we all know that's a lie. I have family who will go out of their way to take me to appointments, take me shopping for gluten-free foods, and especially an amazing baker/chef/mother who always finds a way to make the gluten-free version of things taste like the normal version. Maintaining celiacs disease in college is at sometimes a strenuous task, but you learn as go because life doesn't stop for anyone.