Sierra Freeman

When I was eight months old my mother was sitting on the porch holding me on her lap absentmindedly eating peanut butter crackers unaware that her and I were about to learn some vital new information. Upon taking a tiny bite of one of the crackers, I went into anaphylactic shock and started having a severe allergic reaction. Thankfully my parents were able to get me to the hospital just in time (otherwise I would not be writing this biography). We learned that day that I have a life-threatening allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, and macadamia nuts. Granted, my allergy wasn’t too difficult to manage at first. This was mostly due to the fact that I was doing none of the managing myself and was simply following my mother around like a puppy, inhaling everything she gave me permission to eat. However as I got older, my health-inflicted Reese’s ban began to become more frustrating. I constantly had to avoid all of the good-looking candies and dishes at events due to a fear of cross contamination. Living in such a Chick-Fil-A dominated region of the United States yet not being able to consume their products brings quite a bit of pity from everyone. This pity is only exacerbated upon their realization that I will never experience chicken minis. However, the reality is that I don’t cry myself to sleep every night due to the lack of peanut product I consume per day. Thankfully, I have learned to manage my diet with far more grace over the years. While it is still a defining factor of my personality, being the “peanut girl” is not as painful as my Snickers-loving counterparts would lead you to believe.