I get a lot of questions on a daily basis about why I would choose to be vegan. Why I would choose to alter my diet to take out meat and dairy, because cheese and meat are just so delicious! To be honest, I often think that myself. But, contrary to popular belief, I don't just eat leaves and grass (although sometimes, my dinner looks kind of close). As a college student without complete access to eating exactly the way I want to, it can be hard to get the nutrients that I need, and there are some daily struggles that make my diet choice a bit difficult. At the end of the day, it's worth it, but here are seven struggles that a college vegetarian or vegan can expect to face.
1. Walking by the vegetarian/vegan section of the dining hall like:
Tofu and rice, again. How innovative. Does anyone know how bad it is for you to eat soy every day? And even if it was okay to eat it every day, ever think we might get a little sick of it? No? Okay.
2. When you go out with all your friends for pizza.
This one is more of a specifically vegan problem (although when all your friends want pepperoni, it applies to vegetarians too.) My inner monologue: "remember why you do this. Think of the cows. Think of OH MY GOD IT'S MOZARELLA. Wait no, no you can do this... but I love it so much."
3. Trying to not be "that obnoxious vegan/vegetarian".
Don't talk about it, self. This random stranger doesn't care about how much you love cows.
4. Why do all restaurants put chicken on their salads?
Yeah, yeah, I know, they can leave it off, but would it really be so hard to just have one salad (that's not a garden salad with little nutritional value) that doesn't have meat? And I can't tell you how many times I've ordered a salad without chicken and its come out with the chicken on, and then they have to fix it, and that's just a waste of food and everybody's time.
5. Walking through the general section of the dining hall like:
Do I eat that? Please tell me I can eat that... I don't eat that.
6. The fear that you'll someday get tired of peanut butter.
WHAT WILL I DO THEN?!
7. Healthy vegetarian/vegan foods being SO EXPENSIVE.
I just want some chickpeas and kale without having to spend $18. I'm a hungry, broke college kid.
At the end of the day, I'm happy with my choices and why I've chosen the diet that I have. Vegetarian and vegan diets are more sustainable, and it makes me feel like I'm doing my little part for the planet. While it can be hard to eat a specific and pretty restrictive diet in college, it's worth it to me and countless other students who have made this choice, so help your friendly neighborhood vegetarian/vegan and stock up on some black beans, rice, peanut butter, quinoa and/or hummus.
