As someone who has had awful allergies for their entire life, this year seems exceptionally horrible. After doing my research I found out that this year's pollen count has reached an all-time high. When I read this fact I almost cried. The past few weeks have been a never-ending cycle of my eyes burning all day among other symptoms and I end up taking Benadryl at least a few times a week just to get by. 

     I have tried all of the different medications on the market and haven’t seen many promising results. Most of them end up making me drowsy or they just don’t work well. I am considering resorting to allergy shots, which is a long process but at this point, I definitely think it would be worth it.

     It is interrupting my everyday tasks and responsibilities and I can’t do anything about it. Recently, I had a fundraiser event for the Ronald McDonald House that was an outdoor movie night. We planned this for months and I was very excited, to my disappointment I was miserable the whole time. Toward the end of the night my face was red, my eyes were watering, and I could barely speak without sneezing. I also have had to skip my dance classes and cancel on friends due to major migraines. On top of this, most nights, I go to sleep as soon as possible because I feel so bad and end up not doing my homework. It’s crazy that something so small is negatively affecting my grades, responsibilities and social life.

     One of my favorite things happens to be flowers and having so much hate for pollen feels wrong when it is responsible for something I love so much. Being able to look outside my window and see the rows of azaleas in my backyard brings me so much joy I almost forget about the pollen. Spring means color and life is coming back after the dreary winter months and I hate that my otherwise favorite time of year is veiled by a gross yellow cloud. The beautiful weather should be appreciated but sadly I think I will have to keep looking at the flowers from my window.

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