One year ago I began my plant-based diet, never did I think that I also started the beginning of endless argument, judgment, and defense. For some reason what seems like the simplest solution to many of the world's problems is one of most controversial topics I've had to advocate for. It is completely understandable that people who eat meat don’t understand that what they have been taught to eat all their life could be questioned.

The problem is when that understanding attitude isn’t recuperated. I have changed my lifestyle and my diet to match the things I believe in but still, when I decline a piece of chicken my sanity is questioned. Still, when I tell someone I don’t eat any dairy they look at me baffled and ask why. Still, when I tell them my reasoning they get red in the face and clench their fists because what I claim is not part of their truth.

I’ve grown as a vegan and learned that this lifestyle isn't just about what you eat or what you wear. This lifestyle comes with more arguments than conversation. It comes with more judgment on top of the existing judgment people initially had towards you. I learned that the longer you are a part of it the more you see how to handle people.

You choose who you think deserves to hear your reasoning and you know who is more likely to listen before they even ask. Some people just aren’t worth the explanation and I find myself staying being silenced more often than not.

Veganism takes compassion, commitment and discipline this should be recognized instead of seeing it as a group of extremists/treehuggers or as a simple trend. I’ve seemed to become just a diet for people and it becomes a huge confounding variable in the mind of those trying to create an opinion of me. There is much more to vegans and one of those things are feeling.

In my daily conversations, I without failure hear the same handful of remarks that I feel people who eat meat should reconsider and really understand what how they are affecting us when said.

1. “So does this bother you?” *Holding a piece of meat to their mouth and biting into it slowly*

I understand the common reaction and the need to ridicule something so against a normal and what they think is a healthy diet. I don’t understand, however, why this response is not seen as disrespectful and inconsiderate. So to answer the question, no it doesn’t bother me but your lack of understanding does.

2. “I could never give up meat”

Your body will feel 10x better, your health will improve, and your immune system will make you feel like you are resilient. So yes you could go vegan and be the same, if not, better person you are now. But if what you meant was that you would never want to go vegan that is a different story and one of which I did not ask.

3. “I’d go vegan, but it’s too hard”

We are taught all our lives to work for the things we want and to never give up. The irony is this one is usually the person it’s coming from. The athlete that dedicates their life to sports says it’s too hard not thinking about how hard they worked to get where they are. Or the valedictorian who worked for four years to get into Yale but could never possibly put down a piece of meat.

4.“I don’t even like meat but I just can’t give up cheese”

I agree cheese is the best thing to ever exist and I can’t get enough of it. The best thing about being vegan is that guilt-free, healthy, and cruelty-free cheese exists. In all grocery stores and in all forms. If expense is what you are worried about you will quickly see there isn't much of a difference when you stop buying your meat by the pound for some veggies. There is something called a budget and the benefits of veganism outweigh the cost.

5. “So where do you get your protein?”

My personal favorite and most common. How nice of those who worry but I promise you it's getting just as much if not more valuable protein than those who eat meat. But if you don’t mind me asking how do you watch your cholesterol with all that red meat?

To those who hear the word “vegan” and scoff. I suggest you reconsider your attitude towards those who just want to make the world a better place. If you disagree that is your right but generalizing all vegans because of one who chooses to advocate in a way you don’t appreciate does not give you the right to belittle a whole group.