Can I get your number? Can you send me a pic? Do you have a man? How old are you? Your man won’t let you have a friend?
All of these questions are ones that I’m sure you’ve been asked more times than you’d like. For me, there’s one question that gets under my skin more than any other.
You don’t eat ANY meat? I cannot begin to count the number of times I’ve been asked this question over the course of my 6 years of being vegetarian. So here it is: my story behind choosing to live a vegetarian lifestyle.
It was a summer day in 2008, when Facebook was as popular as Snapchat is today. My best friend, who was notorious for making fun of me, sent me a Facebook instant message. This time, he asked something that would trigger a change in my life forever. His message read, “What you doing woman? Somewhere eating chicken?” He knew that chicken was my favorite food. For as long as I could remember that’s the only meat I’d eat, other than turkey.
At fifteen years old being asked such a question prompted immediate overthinking. Why did eating chicken seem to be a typical task for me? What if I was eating a burger? Or a salad? I was really over-analyzing the entire thing, but this question became one that I’d always remember.
After receiving that simple instant message, I vowed to not eat meat ever again. Not because I was allergic to it or because I saw some video from a slaughterhouse, but because I simply felt better without it. After giving it a trial run, I felt satisfied instead of full. I felt energized after a meal instead of ready for a nap. This became something that I wanted to be a part of me forever.
Crazy. Weird. I’ve been called just about every name in the book. But this decision was one that I made on my own, not due to pressure from anyone else. So to answer the notorious question, no I do not eat any meat. However, I do eat everything else. That’s how I keep a shapely figure despite the misconception that all vegetarians are “skinny.”
Now, for those of you who are reading this and considering making a change such as mine, be sure to do your research on ways that you can replace certain nutrients that meat provides such as protein. After all, this lifestyle is not for everybody but it is one that should be discussed more openly.
HCXO!