When I was younger, I thought vegetarianism simply made sense. If we didn't need to kill and eat animals, then why should we? Yet, at the age of 8, I did not exactly possess discipline...Plus, my Puerto Rican heritage's traditional menus almost always included meat. So, it didn't happen.
When I was around 12 years old and vegetarianism was still in my head as an afterthought, I remember sitting at dinner with my parents discussing food choices. I gasped excitedly when I realized that I had not eaten any meat that entire day - maybe it was actually possible?! Alas, my dreams were dashed when my father reminded me that I had eaten a hamburger for lunch.
I wasn't able to go full-swing vegetarian until the summer before my senior year of high school. After taking a semester of environmental studies and watching the Meatrix (highly recommended hilarious yet unfortunate animated story about factory farms), I figured I was able to challenge myself, even if it was just for a summer. My mother was excited for me to try something new. My father kept offering me hotdogs and hamburgers at every summer cookout.
My only concession was that I would eat fish about three times a month because it was good for you and I love it. That's my guilty pleasure. I never really considered veganism as a real option because I love eggs too much. It would also have probably been much more difficult to keep up with, especially since I am usually living on a budget and it's a pretty expensive choice to maintain.
At first, it was uncomfortable. After about three weeks, it wasn't too bad. In fact, going back to school and continuing vegetarianism was not as difficult as I thought. (I discovered mozzarella cheese, the greatest (fattest?) cheese on earth). Things they don't tell you about being vegetarian? You can still totally eat candy and chocolate and pasta and pizza and keep almost all the unhealthy, not so great eating patterns that you might have had before.
After four years of vegetarianism (with a dash of pescatarianism), I studied abroad in France. Realizing that I would be limiting my experience if I stuck to my diet, I decided to let it go. (Duck confit is absolutely scrumptious and I strongly recommend it).
At this point, I don't know where I lean. I mostly eat vegetarian, but I'm not as strict as I used to be (of course, with my fish exceptions, I was never really that strict to begin with). I've been eating chicken since I returned from study abroad because it's easy and relatively healthy. While I still have my reservations, I realize that in college, I will most likely not have the most delicious options without sometimes allowing myself to eat either fish or chicken, and that's simply because of the meal plan and my taste preferences.
I aspire to stick to an ethical diet in the future - ethical for farmers and for animals - but I don't think I'm able to in this moment. Of course, when I graduate, I'll definitely be on a budget so I think it would still be difficult to be able to eat reasonably priced and filling meals without meat. It is extremely frustrating that so much of what is unhealthy and unethically prepared is almost always the most affordable food. I need to find my balance and I hope I can do so when I begin to prepare and shop for groceries myself. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to be a strict vegetarian, but hopefully I will be able to buy ethically prepared foods.
