Ever since I was about 4 years old I decided I wanted to be a vegetarian. I was the child that would cry when my parents made me eat meat because I felt bad for the animals. I was the child that cried when my grandparents bought me my first fur coat. Not much has changed in the last 17 years. I'm the girl that cries at any animal video, good or bad. I want more than anything in the world to have my own sanctuary filled with exotic animals, like raccoons, because they're my favorite, quite strange I know. Until you watch a raccoon sitting at a dinner table with a birthday hat on eating grapes, you can't judge me. Anyways, my love for animals, amongst other health reasons is why I am a vegetarian.

My parents didn't let me officially become a vegetarian until I was 18. Once I turned 18, I quickly changed my diet to pescatarian. I lasted almost a year, until my friends and I went camping, and I was miserable, cold and tired and eventually caved for some jerky. It has then been a battle. You would think reading the intro of my story, that someone like me wouldn't have a single problem maintaining a vegetarian diet, but it's not always that simple.

Going from being a meat eater to cutting out meat completely, whether you want to do it or not is hard. It's especially hard to go out to dinner and watch everyone order a burger or steak. I always thought it would be simple, "think about the cows Michelle" is what I would tell myself, but watching people eat it in front of you is tempting. Having the influence from family members and friends is also tough. My family is Ukrainian and all we do is eat meat. I mean literally, it's in every single meal. My family, especially my grandmother got really upset when I told her I wasn't going to eat meat anymore. To her it was like saying, I'm never gonna eat your meals again, and to a Ukrainian grandmother, that's basically sacrilege. My boyfriend's family is also Italian, so it's basically the same story. During Christmas and Thanksgiving, I would slide my turkey and ham onto his plate when no one was looking because I didn't have the heart to tell them I don't eat meat. I think the biggest struggle are the munchies. After a night of drinking, you want more than anything to snack on some chicken nuggets, and you have to control not only your sober self, but you're drunk self too, and my drunk self is a pretty convincing b*tch.

Let me clear something up real quick. Being vegetarian does not mean I don't eat anything. I eat EVERYTHING. From mac n cheese to burritos and sandwiches. I go to Chipotle and get tofu instead of meat. My sandwiches are delicious, filled with veggies and hummus. There are so many options for vegetarians, even when going out to eat, so don't ever think that if you go vegetarian that you'll be missing out. Once you get into the habit of not eating meat for a while it does get easier, and just because you might slip sometimes, doesn't make you a horrible person. Half the time my plate looks just as good as anyone else's, once I got used to watching everyone else eat chicken nuggets. On the plus side, my diet can benefit the environment. It cuts back on carbon emissions, as well as saves land because raising animals for food uses about 30% of the Earth's land mass. Just saying, people.

I have slipped a couple times in the last three years. I haven't been perfect about my diet. I went back to eating fish and I hope that in the future I can go vegan. I have IBS which is irritable bowl syndrome, which means certain foods don't agree with me, leaving me very bloated and unhappy. I have personally found that cutting back on meat, has made my symptoms better, which makes me not want to eat meat that much anymore. I can go out in a skin tight dress and only look middle pregnant after my meal. I also have high cholesterol, and as soon as I cut out meat completely my levels went back to normal. Going vegetarian has helped me personally and maybe it can help you too.

Going vegetarian isn't for everyone, and I've never been the type of person to push my diet down anyone else throat. My family still eats meat, and my boyfriend and I go out and he still orders meat. There are many benefits to being vegetarian, but it is definitely a decision that you need to make on your own. This is just my story and hopefully, it helps anyone who's on the fence about making a change.