It was in fifth grade when I became a vegetarian. At the time, nobody took it seriously and just believed it was a phase to ‘save the animals’.
Being taken seriously at ten years old is a hard goal to reach.
As I was in the lunch line, getting my usual peanut butter and jelly (or pizza that we had every Friday), I noticed people getting chicken nuggets. I sat down at my table and started to look at my friend’s chicken nuggets.
Then, being the animal activist I came to be today, I began to think about how sad the chickens must be to be killed.
At that moment, I was a vegetarian.
I went home that day, and my mother told me we were having chicken and rice. I then said, “Mom, I’m a vegetarian.”
She raised her eyebrows at me. “You’re a vegetarian? No you’re not. Just eat your dinner.”
“I’m serious,” I said confidently. “I decided today that I’m a vegetarian.”
My mom just didn’t argue with me anymore; she said that that night I could get away without eating the chicken, but for another week, I kept up the habit of not eating any more meat.
I never ate hotdogs or hamburgers; I never ate steak or Buffalo wings. My main meat was poultry. And even then, I could live without it.
Soon enough, my mother decided to give being a vegetarian a try. I mean, what’s to lose? …Besides giving up the meat part.
For about five years now, I’ve been a happy and healthy vegetarian. To me, being a vegetarian is like being on a healthier diet. Meat isn’t the healthiest thing for you, and it’s a statistic that vegetarians live ten years longer. I know, I know. What am I going to do with ten extra years to live? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll get to meet my great-grandchildren and watch them grow up.
I feel proud of myself to say I’m a vegetarian. I’ve always liked to challenge myself. I even gave up my favorite food for lent although I’m not Catholic. Challenge to me is good. I learn something new every time with it. And being a vegetarian has changed me and made me into a real animal’s life activist. I don’t know what would have stayed the same if I hadn’t gone vegetarian and actually taken animal testing and slaughterhouses seriously.
So, to me, this is a relief. This is a big part of my life, and I’m very proud of myself to say I have enough will power to contain my want for poultry.
Even then, when I gave it all up, I was ten years old – even less likely to stay true to something like this.