That's right, I, an avid carnivore and chicken finger addict, went an entire month without eating any meat. A daunting challenge, conquered. They told me I couldn't do it. They tried to hold me back but here I am 33 days later, victorious.

I was hesitant to tell this beautiful story, filled with so many highs and lows, because I am very aware that in vegetarian and vegan time, a month is nothing. I know many people, far more disciplined than I, who have gone years without eating meat or any animals products.

But for my 21 years on this earth that has never been my lifestyle so I'm going to let myself have this little win if you don't mind. We all have our weaknesses, burgers and chicken fingers are mine.

I've always wanted to attempt to live a vegetarian lifestyle. After every awful documentary, I'd see on the horrors of the meat industry and the inhumane treatment, I'd vow to never eat meat again. It would stick for a day or two and then eventually fade from my priorities.

This cycle repeated itself over and over again for years up until last month. I discovered while out to eat with my younger sister that she had become a vegetarian and hadn't eaten meat for several months. I figured if my 15-year-old sister has enough discipline to stick with it then so should I. Inspiration from my sister in combination with a college course focused on our misuse of water, in which the meat industry is the biggest culprit, led me to begin my journey.

The very first thing I learned from this experience was that, for the most part, it isn't my craving for meat that typically leads me to eat it, but the convenience of it. Whenever I was in a rush and wanted to quickly pick up something to eat, I struggled to find any easy options. Most vegetarian choices were further out of the way and more expensive. Not to mention the lack of variety, I mean a girl can only eat so many salads and hummus before breaking.

The second impact this experience had on me was the increased amount of thought I had to put into exactly what I was putting into my body. Obviously, it is possible to eat meat and also have a healthy diet but being a vegetarian forced me to focus more on what I was eating and the ingredients. I could no longer just mindlessly pick up fast food without a care in the world for what I was actually eating.

This leads me to the third insight I gained from this meatless month. Going a month without meat for me was the equivalent to also going a month without fast food. Unless you just get fries or a drink you really can't get much at a fast food restaurant without meat. Again, you can obviously eat meat and also not eat fast food but my diet restrictions took that unhealthy option off the table for me altogether.

The fourth and final thing I learned from all of this is the existence of a magical place called Trader Joe's. Insanely, I had only ever been once or twice before in my life and boy was I missing out. A tiny, intensely overcrowded grocery store filled with vegetarian options such as veggie burgers that don't taste like garbage and meatless chicken fingers that could fool the biggest of addicts. It was a bright light amongst the darkest of times.

They say it takes 21 days to make or break a habit but they were clearly not talking about mine and meat's relationship.

Like all good things, my vegetarian month came to an end with, you guessed it, chicken fingers. Okay, so I just don't think I'll ever be in the position to completely give up meat forever but this brief but informative experience definitely changed the way I think about food and open the door to healthier and more environmentally friendly options. I plan to continue shopping at Trader Joe's and eating meatless products while also indulging in nonvegetarian options in greater moderation than before. I highly encourage everyone to try this lifestyle out even for a limited time because if I can do it anyone can.