I became a vegetarian near the end of 8th grade, and I’ll never forget being on the senior trip and only having fries to eat because there was no other vegetarian option. Being vegetarian in a Dominican household can feel like the 8th-grade senior trip all over again in a lot of ways.

For one, my mother figured I was going through a phase at that age, and couldn’t comprehend why I wasn’t eating meat and would just keep insisting that I eat meat. Not eating meat isn’t exactly a “thing” in the Latino/Hispanic community, seeing as every plate has some form of animal protein in it. Taking this into consideration, getting the message across to my mother and family that I was giving up meat, wasn’t easy.

Add on the fact that I’m also a very picky eater, when dinner came around things got pretty hectic. My mother couldn’t comprehend why I was giving up something that I had been eating all my life, and why I couldn’t just pick out the meat in a food that she had made. She'd remind me all the time how I'd eat a whole plate of platano frito and salami all by myself with no complaint before.

Yes, mom, that was then, this is now.

When it came to family gatherings, the majority of the food had some animal byproduct in it and again I would be expected to pick out the meat if I didn’t want to eat it. My family didn’t really understand that I wasn’t going to eat food that had been mixed with meat and that I would just eat rice if need be.

They also couldn’t comprehend why I didn’t eat fish because fish wasn’t exactly “meat,” it was its own category. Walking into family gatherings I’d have to explain time and time again that yes I still wasn’t eating meat, and yes that meant I wasn’t eating shrimp so no I couldn’t eat that pasta tia made. It wasn’t easy back then and I’d get frustrated anytime I’d have to go out because I knew I probably wouldn’t find anything to eat besides rice and salad.

It was much more difficult being vegetarian when I was younger and I did fall into the habit of eating a ton of junk food because I didn’t like vegetables, particularly the vegetables I grew up with. Growing up I used to eat cucumbers, lettuce, and tomatoes; all of these vegetables that you see on the daily and I didn’t like them which made my mother increasingly frustrated. Now that I’m older and actually do my own food shopping, I can explain to her that yes I do actually eat vegetables just not the ones she’s accustomed to cooking or grew up with herself in the Dominican Republic.

I don’t like lettuce but I love spinach. I don’t like tomatoes in a salad but I love them in sandwiches. I don’t like cucumbers but I love pickles. I don’t like red apples but I love the green ones. I love radishes, and Brussel sprouts, and red peppers but not the green ones. I love mushrooms, green beans, bok choy, weird fruit, and so many other things that I didn’t grow up eating at home but I’ve learned about thanks to living in the diverse city of New York.

Eventually, my mother came to terms with the fact that I wasn’t just going through a phase and she became more understanding and helpful in trying to find different things for me to eat. She’d make my meals separate from hers and my brothers, and would try her best to not give me the same options all the time. Family gatherings for holidays became more bearable as my family would make vegetarian options of empanadas, lasagnas, and pastelon. I also learned to eat before going out just in case there wasn’t a vegetarian option available, which has thankfully changed with the rise of vegetarianism/veganism! Although they weren’t so understanding 8 years ago, I’m thankful to have a family that is always looking out for me in that regard.