To begin, I’d like to mention that this an article where I will dive into a few rants. I hope if you are reading this, you won’t take it too personally.

So, I have been vegetarian for three years and vegan for 18 months. Now I became vegan for health reasons and have stayed away from meat products for the animals, health, and the environment. There is no way I could ever eat chicken fingers again. That’s who I am, and I hope to inspire others to take an incremental approach or at least learn what it means to stay away from animal products.

But here’s my problem, I have a lot of friends. No that’s not a problem, but their view of me is. Some you could consider acquaintances, close friends, best friends, pals, people I text, people I talk to at get togethers, school friends, home friends, old friends, or my work friends. Out of these different types of “categories,” I’d have to say their image of me is “the vegan.” Now a few them have chosen the route of vegan/vegetarianism as well but it’s a small percentage of my friends.

Here’s the thing though about my veganism: I don’t like the fact that I am “the vegan girl.” I also write, read, run, cook, work, hang out with friends, do yoga, and make banging smoothies.

The other day I went into Philly, and one of my friends, every chance she got, introduced me as “the vegan.” A few of my friends at college have even told me that when explaining me to their friends back home, that I’m their “vegan” friend.

The reason why I don’t enjoy this representation of my lifestyle is because it makes the movement seem as though we are aliens or of another breed. The whole point of abstaining from eating meat is to save animals, and to not make others feel bad when they don’t have food for me, or to be on the new “trendy” diet.

People who choose to eat vegan or vegetarian do it because they hope to bring change to the world in many different ways. We believe in love, compassion, and justice. Just as those in the LGBQT community, or feminists, or those fighting for human rights.

Like at barbecues or at restaurants I don’t want to tell people I’m vegan right away. It’s as if I’m shoving my lifestyle down another person’s throat, and I’d rather not make a hassle when someone offers me a burger at their house. Yet, then there are MANY times when people who know that I don’t eat burgers decide they want to share with the world, “oh, it’s because she’s vegan.” I’d rather the conversation come up slowly into a conversation, so there is an actual conversation.

See, the whole point of our lifestyle is not to act better or refuse food. The whole point of our lifestyle is to inspire change, and someone may get the wrong impression if I go around introducing myself, “Hey guys, I’m Heather, and if you didn’t know, I’m a vegan.”