Don't Bring Home the Bacon

The day I turned vegetarian I was four years old. Seems rather young, I know. But what happened traumatized young me, and older me is so stubborn that I have just never turned back.

I was at my grandparents house for the night. It was always fun to sleep over at their house because they usually let us eat what we wanted and as much as we wanted. That night, we were eating hotdogs. I ate four. Now, just imagine four hotdogs trying to fit into the stomach of a four year old child. That is one hotdog for every year I had been on this earth so far. There was no way my tiny little body could hold that much food in it. And it didn't.

That night, I woke in the middle of the night and puked everywhere. It was bad. And after that, I refused to eat meat anymore. My grandmother tells this story with the caveat that I was apparently already sick when I came over. But my mom says that is not true, I have always just hated meat. Apparently, she used to have to force me to eat chicken nuggets as a kid. Regardless of what happened, since that day, I have not devoured another meat product.

It was always difficult not eating meat in my family. They are avid carnivores, and proud of it. And I don't have a problem with that. For me, vegetarianism is less about the moral aspect (although that does play a small role), and more of a taste/trauma/stubbornness thing. You can eat a burger across from me and I don't care. However, because they are carnivores, there were always very few veggie options in my household. I often tended to cook for myself.

The problem with that is, I don't know how to cook. So I tended to eat a lot of the same stuff: pizza, grilled cheese, fruit, sandwiches. Not the worst, but not the best by a long shot. Plus, my family is not the best cooks, so there wasn't really anyone to teach young me what to do.

The other thing that made it difficult was their judgment. My family hated that I was vegetarian, and they didn't respect the decision. At all. Especially my sisters. I can't tell you the amount of times that they tried to sneak meat into my food. And yeah, they are just kids and messing around, but that is crazy disrespectful. Plus, my parents never even attempted to stop them.

That is not only disrespectful, but harmful to my health. Since I haven't had meat in so long, my body doesn't know how to process it. If I were to eat even a little, I'd get incredibly sick as my body attempted to reject what I had eaten. This is something I told my family multiple times, and no one seemed to care. It still drives me insane to this day.

Growing up as the long vegetarian in a house full of carnivores is hard. But it is possible. You need to be strong in your beliefs. You need to make sure they don't do things like my family did. When they disrespect you, call them out on it. Whether they are simply judging you, or trying to sneak out food that will make you sick, don't let them get away with it.

Learn to cook. This was the biggest mistake I made. I should've gone out of my way to learn to cook vegetarian options. I am now on my own in college, off the meal plan, and eating is difficult as I try to figure out what I can and can't cook.

And most of all, be proud of your difference. Don't be embarrassed or ashamed. You are a vegetarian, and that is awesome.