Day 1: THE INTRODUCTION

Being that this is the first of many entries to come, I feel it necessary to give background information and explain what it is I am going to be blogging about. Growing up with four dogs, two guinea pigs, a cat, and a rabbit caused me to form a special place in my heart for animals. I sign petitions to support their rights, I refuse to wear fur, and most notably, I will not eat animal meat. This wasn’t always the case, though. Up until about tenth grade I ate all kinds of meat – be it hamburgers, bacon, filet mignon, chicken, turkey, etc. You get the picture. However, I had always wanted to be a vegetarian because I hated the idea of consuming an animal merely for such a selfish pleasure. At fifteen-years-old I decided enough was enough; it was time for me to change my ways. I had to take it slowly, through stages. First I eliminated beef and pork, and then chicken, then turkey, and finally seafood, and to this day, I have yet to eat another animal. So I lived happily ever after, right? Wrong. Over the years, I’ve learned that cutting out meat from my diet has proven to be quite a challenge, and for some bizarre reason unbeknownst to me, people are mystified by my vegetarianism.

A day has yet to go by where no one asks me about being a vegetarian. Today, for example, a friend and I got into a small argument over it. He thinks that meat is absolutely delicious, and I must be crazy for giving that up. My stance is the complete opposite. We settled on agreeing to disagree. I guess I’m just going to have to deal with people being constantly bewildered by not me eating our friend the cow. It’s ok, though. I’ve learned to accept people’s puzzlement as a sign of genuine interest. Maybe you don’t agree with me about animal rights, or maybe you don’t think that my decision to be a vegetarian really has any kind of impact on society or the number of animals slaughtered per year. That’s fine. I’m always more than willing to answer anyone’s questions on the matter.

Additionally, I’ll comment on my experience as a vegetarian going through college. You’d be surprised how many hardships, questions, stares, etc. I face on a daily basis. On top of said documentation, I challenge you, the reader, to answer my questions – the first one being What makes eating meat such a euphoric experience?