Just like with anything, there are a lot of opinions about what the best diet for humans is. Some people aren’t considering their own health, and only worry about the lives of the animals that are killed and then plated on someone's dinner table. There has been a somewhat recent flow of memes about vegans that caused me to write this article. Every time I came to find one on Instagram I would tag my friend and we’d laugh. Regardless, there is some truth to these images (if taken with a grain of salt).

I've recently found out that my friend is choosing to adopt the vegan lifestyle, so the meme frequency will only increase from here!

I myself tried to change my diet for a while. I remember when I was 13, I told my mom I wanted to be vegan and she said “ya callate, estas loca. Ve a limpiar la cocina,” meaning – Shut up, you’re crazy. Go clean the kitchen. So I got insulted and on top of that had chores. I see why she said that though, because with our culture’s cuisine, being vegetarian would be really hard. Three years later, I got the notion of being vegetarian again and once more told my mom of my plans. Surprisingly enough, she agreed. I did make some concessions though, I had to eat seafood. “But then I won’t be vegetarian!”

That’s how I became a pescatarian. And here are the downfalls I found during my two years of not eating meat.

1. Meat cravings are a no.

I would see what my friends or family were eating and had to reprimand myself for doing so.

2. Most school lunches aren’t pescatarian-friendly.

I got sick of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because that was the only option my high school cook gave me. Thankfully I have more options in college

3. Having to eat something different than those around you is sad.

Thanksgiving was so upsetting. I was just eating mashed potatoes because everything else had meat, even the pasta!

4. My grandparents thought I was crazy.

When I told my grandma I would not eat her vegetable dishes any more (most contained meat) she asked "Oh my, when did that accident happen?"

5. If you’re not creative, it can be so boring.

I had to take a break from eating at home and venture to a vegetarian restaurant more than a few times.

6. I did notice that my energy increased.

I usually hate running, but it didn't bother me as much during this diet.

7. No more of that tired feeling after eating.

Usually after eating a meal we get tired and just wanna nap. Not while being a pescatarian or vegetarian!

8. I tried a lot of food that hadn’t really crossed my mind.

Foods like tempeh I would never have tried, but I'm thankful I did!

9. I lost some weight.

It wasn't much, and after losing a bit of weight everything stablized.

10. Bragging about being pescatarian was nice.

Honestly, I would just tell people I was vegetarian because then I didn't have to explain what a pescatarian was.

So I was pescatarian until the second month of freshman year in college. Cravings got the better of me and I gave up because of all the choices in the dining hall! I was weak. I would still recommend this lifestyle, whether it's being vegetarian or pescatarian or even vegan. I think the benefits outweigh the negatives so it is definitely worth it, you just have to have discipline.