Gluten intolerance, also known as my downfall. I wasn't always plagued by this dietary restriction. It all started when I returned home from my Winter Break trip to New York City. The trip could be characterized by New York famous sights followed by bread, pizza, and more bread. The amount of bread I ate was what could be considered "unhealthy", but I was content.

The minute I returned home, my stomach began bothering me every single day. At first, I thought there may have been something wrong with my intestine or with my colon, but after numerous tests and medical examinations, all of the results revealed that everything appeared to be normal. My stomach didn't cease to bother me after these couple of months of trying to figure out what was going on, so I began to panic. Luckily, my mom's friend suggested that I may be intolerant of this weird thing called "gluten", as she too suffered from this dietary restriction.

After a week of avoiding gluten-filled foods (all the good stuff), I immediately noticed a change in my energy levels as well as in my stomach. The change was unbelievable, leading me to feel motivated to go off gluten for a couple of months. Naturally, I began craving macaroni and cheese, brownies, and even cereal. You guessed it, I caved. For that brief moment, I forgot all about the suffering from the months prior to my gluten avoidance and decided to eat a slice of pizza in one of my classrooms (it was being offered for free - how could I resist?). Wrong move, I should have listened to my screaming stomach, begging me to put that pizza down.

Now, after countless months of going back and forth, I am now a dedicated connoisseur of the unfortunate effects of gluten. Welcome to the signs that you too may leading the glamorous life of a gluten intolerant person.

1. It’s hard to find restaurants where you truly feel comfortable eating at

Shoutout to all the restaurants with gluten-free options.

2. Finding food to eat in general is difficult

Oh, so you say you only have spaghetti, pizza, apple pie, and sandwiches? I think I’ll stick with this lovely piece of cardboard you have there.

3. Free food is no longer something to look forward to

“I brought donuts to class today! You don’t want one Katrina?"

“Internal screaming”

4. Some people believe that you’re exaggerating or choosing to follow this lifestyle

No, if I could eat pizza and pasta for the rest of my life, believe me, I would. I wish this was a choice.

5. Gluten intolerance gets mistaken for Celiac Disease

I’m lucky where I don’t have to worry about gluten contamination because it won’t affect me that much, but people with Celiac Disease are dealing with an autoimmune disease that leads to damage in the small intestine if gluten is ingested. Once nutrients aren’t absorbed into the body, then this leads to further health complications like intestinal cancers or diabetes

ANYWAYS, because I don’t have Celiacs, my diet is more lenient, meaning that I can bask in the glory of having wonderful rice-cakes that may contain traces of gluten because they were prepared in the same place (contaminated). Lucky me!

6. Accidentally eating something that has gluten in it is the worst

The pain, the suffering, why?

7. Purposefully eating something that has gluten in it is also the worst

No matter how much you think you want that cookie cake, think of the consequences! It’s not worth it! I had to learn that the hard way.

8. Salad becomes your best friend

Thank you salad, you’ve done well.

10. Finding solace in friends who are also suffering from dietary restrictions

Yay, someone who can suffer alongside me.

11. People assuming that you're losing weight by not eating gluten

That would be the case reader if and only if chocolate had gluten in it. However, because it’s free of the miserable ingredient called gluten, I can eat as much chocolate as my heart desires, which as you can probably guess, becomes a problem.