November 26th, 2015 I made the decision to become a vegan. There was no reason or life changing event for me to make this decision, I just wanted to try it out. However, I was only a vegan for a month because I wasn't eating the right foods or educating myself on how to properly be a vegan. It was hard for me during that month because everything my family cooks has meat or animal products in them. That lead me to not eating at family get-togethers. This worried my mom because I would go hours without eating and doing that almost every day would be damaging to my health.
I became a vegetarian on Christmas of that year, I remember my mom being really worried about me since the only thing I had that day was potatoes. My niece was the one who really pushed me to finally eat some macaroni and cheese with vegetables and call myself a vegetarian. Now that I was a vegetarian it was easier for me to eat out and cook for myself at home.
Now that I am a full time college student being a vegetarian isn't as hard as some might think. I live in an apartment with a complete kitchen so cooking for myself isn't an issue, I eat lots of fruits and vegetables and plenty of snacks throughout the day. I get all the vitamins and nutrients I need from my meals. I also have a neighbor that is vegan and she really helps me keep myself on track even if she doesn't realize that she is. I've met lots of people at school that are vegan or vegetarian and discuss how we stay healthy with our busy schedules.
One day I made the mistake of telling my mom a comment I saw someone post on Twitter about vegetarians, "doctors say being vegetarian is unhealthy because all they eat is junk food". Now every time I have any kind of junk in my hand she repeats the quote to me like I've never had anything healthy in my life. I find that persons remark to be ignorant because if a person wasn't a vegetarian they would still eat the junk and perhaps more of it. People are going to eat what ever they want regardless of dietary restrictions.
Recently, I made the decision to start eating fish and seafoods, but only when I go home. So, technically I am a pescatarian, but since I only eat seafood once in a blue moon I still call myself a vegetarian. I found that it was just easier for my family to cook one big meal and finally have something available for me to enjoy with them. It was hard eating shrimp for the first time, it took me awhile to even get the courage to pick it up. It was like I was trying food for the first time, not sure how my body would respond to what I had just ate.
At first I wanted to do it for fun, but then it became about saving animals from abuse. Even if it's one today, one tomorrow or one in the future. I have even started using cruelty-free makeup brands. It makes me feel better knowing that an animal wasn't harmed by testing makeup. I am not going to lie and say I've never thought about eating meat, I have. Recently, I've been thinking about chicken nuggets. When I am with my family and they are cooking burgers or steaks and I smell the meat on the grill I may sometimes think about eating it. But the moment passes, they always do.
I don't badger people about them eating meat, it doesn't bother me. What does bother me is people pestering me about not eating meat like it affects their lives. I am proud to be a vegetarian and the way I choose to lead my life.
