It's Just That Simple

If you ask my Mother and Father, they will say that becoming vegetarians collectively as a family when I was 7 years old was my brother’s idea. This should not surprise me, as my younger brother has always been quite the little dictator. But, if I have the details correct, a once 5 year old swayed my parents into becoming vegetarians…he really should have ran for President, what a shame.

Although there must be a bit more to this story than I am aware of, I can say for certain that growing up in the Ocean State guaranteed the continuation of our seafood consumption. This I am thankful for, as my childhood summers would not have been nearly as fun without the memories of eating clam cakes and chowder on the rocks at Galilee. Regardless of who is to “blame” for my vegetarianism, I am now the lone vege of the family, as one by one the others kicked the habit. Keeping this whole shenanigan up into my adulthood has been my choice, which leads many people to ask the question, why?

I guess now that I am in my mid twenties, people have realized it was not just a phase and are baffled that I have chosen to forgo meat permanently. Beyond basic inquisitiveness, the topic of eating meat has become ever more popular, stirring people’s curiosities even more. Many want to know my views on the subject however this is the cause of a great personal dilemma. Though I have many a good reason for choosing the route of an herbivore, most of the carnivores asking do not truly care to understand my position on the subject. Furthermore, I have zero interest in neither educating nor converting anyone. Bottom line, when it comes to food, people can be easily offended and there is no one less interested in offending a meat eater than I.

Throw away all of my motives for leaving meat off my plate and what I find is that being a vegetarian is simply my preference, no explanation needed, it just makes me happy.