When my younger sister decided to become a vegetarian over a year ago, practically everyone in my family beside her and myself thought the world was turning upside down.
I was a part of endless conversations asking:
"But what will you eat?"
"How will you get all of your nutrients?"
"Why does it even matter so much?"
The general rejection of such a (nowadays) widely accepted concept was absolutely exhausting to listen to after Marissa first proposed her new life change.
After about a year of debates and persuasion, Marissa finally became a vegetarian and gradually gained the support of our family. While all of this was happening, Marissa's resilience with maintaining her stance made me contemplate officially changing my eating habits and joining #TeamMariss as well.
I have always been more healthy than most people I knew. I've only eaten McDonald's once in my life, my mom shopped exclusively at Whole Foods for most of my childhood, and because of this I never gravitated towards the unhealthy snacks that most of my friends loved.
Even though my family never ate much meat besides chicken on a regular basis, after watching Netflix documentaries like Food Inc. and Cowspiracy I began to shy away from meat even more. Through these documentaries and even just scrolling through health-food Instagram accounts, I became even more aware of what exactly I was putting into my body and how what I was consuming would either help or hurt me.
After I officially gave myself a pescatarian label this summer, I set out to learn as much as I could about healthy eating and living. While cutting meat out of my diet has not caused a massive impact in what I eat differently now, it has made me more conscious of how I can elevate my health further through what I actually do choose to eat.
In college, I've found that it's not just difficult to consistently find healthy options on campus, but it is also difficult to get people to understand why I take healthy eating so seriously. I get called "bougie" and even "ridiculous" on an almost daily basis for loving things like matcha and pitaya bowls, just because these healthier foods are more expensive to buy regularly.
Even though I do not have a kitchen in my dorm yet, I refuse to prevent myself from having smoothie bowls or other healthy foods that would typically be cheaper to make at home. Myself and others who make these decisions get judged all the time, even though the price of my two acai bowls a week will easily equal the three trips to Wendy's you chose to make instead.
Just because I fully believe that salad is a food group, does not mean I'm enjoying life any less than someone who eats burgers regularly. Sites like Hannah Bronfman's HBFIT (my favorite) and the thousands of health other blogs out there are amazing sources that provide positive inspiration and useful information for living a healthy lifestyle.
How you eat, exercise, and manage stress now will all affect your body in the long run. As a person who is naturally predisposed to diseases such as heart disease, obesity, and high blood pressure, I refuse to apologize for making my health a priority now.
We all have things we are passionate about, and one of mine just happens to be healthy living. Even if it is not a priority for you or you just hate vegetables, bashing someone for pursuing things they care about is never O.K.
