When I was in high school, a friend urged me to try being a vegetarian. I thought, “Why not?” So, I gave it a chance and slowly began to decrease the amount of meat that I ate. It took a few years to give it all up (I was a pescatarian for a while), but I am now proudly a vegetarian. Over the years, I’ve been faced with many challenges due to my diet. I know that I’m not alone, so here are the most prominent struggles of being a vegetarian.

1. Everyone assumes that all you eat is vegetables, all of the time.

Yes, we eat a lot of salads, but we eat other foods too! Just like meat-eaters, we love our carbs. The only difference is that we eat more fruits and vegetables and we consume soy products instead of real meat. Sometimes soy products even taste similar to meat, so there’s no need for people to worry about how we’re “missing out” on foods like chicken.

2. When someone finds out that you’re a vegetarian, they have to ask why.

While we understand that most people in our society are omnivores, it gets tedious to answer this question all the time. Vegetarians don’t go around asking others why they eat meat, so we would appreciate it if people stopped firing questions at us with their disapproving looks.

3. When people think that being a vegetarian is stupid because “man was made to eat animals” or we’re “still killing innocent living things.”

First of all, man was also made to eat plants. Just because humans had to hunt and eat wild animals some 200,000 years ago does not mean that we need to live that way in today’s day and age. Second of all, all food is always at least partially made from something that was once living. There’s no getting around that, so any argument against eating plants is invalid.

4. When your friend is devouring some meat-laden dish and casually asks if you want to try it.

5. Someone always responds with “I always forget that you’re a vegetarian,” even though it’s been years since you switched to a no-meat diet.

It’s no secret that we’re vegetarians, so why do people always forget? It’s kind of a large part of our life, but it's obviously not important enough for them to remember.

6. You have to take vitamins and make sure that you get enough protein.

In one week, the number of times when someone asks us if we’ve gotten enough protein cannot be counted on one hand. We can often be found eating a spoonful of peanut butter, or three, to combat this.

7. Part of you wants to become a vegan, but then you remember how much you love cheese.

Cheese can be found in at least two of our three daily meals. Unfortunately, we just can’t live without dairy products, so we’ll have to stick with being a vegetarian for now.

8. You can hardly find anything to eat at restaurants or catered events.

It’s quite frustrating when the only options available for us to eat are things like cheese and crackers, fruit, or a house salad. It’s just as annoying when we find an item on the menu that we want, but it has meat in it, so we have to tell the waiter to make sure that there isn’t any meat on the plate when it’s prepared.

9. When people tell you to just pick the meat off.

If anyone wants to make a vegetarian angry, then they should ask this question. The meat touches the food. Therefore, the juices and flavor from the meat get on the food. Can we just pick it off? No, we can't.

10. When the vegetarian dish is some weird, unidentifiable food.

It doesn’t make sense why vegetarians are served some random dish like this while everyone else gets to eat a nice plate of steak with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. Why can’t we have mashed potatoes and vegetables? In addition to this, why does everyone assume that vegetarians want layers of peppers, mushrooms, and eggplant on their veggie sandwiches? Not many people would willingly choose that combination of ingredients if given the chance.

Each vegetarian has their own story. I have a widespread love of animals and I want to help prevent animal cruelty. I’m also a naturally picky eater, so being a vegetarian was convenient. Whether you have chosen the meat-free life for health reasons, animal welfare, or the simple dislike of meat, you can relate to the same struggles as your fellow vegetarians. It may not be easy, but it’s worth it.