A year ago, I decided to become vegetarian. This change was more dramatic than it sounds - not so much for me, but for the people around me. Coming from a country that has some of the most amazing dishes in the world, which usually consisted of some type of meat, it was hard for them to understand why I chose to end my relationship with it. When people ask me why I decided to be vegetarian my answer is very simple: I feel bad for the animals. Although that's completely true, I think my reason is more complex than that; meaning, I actually have more than one reason for becoming vegetarian.
Like many other vegetarians, I get thrown different points of views constantly and I'm actually okay with that. I don't expect the whole world to understand why I do what I do, I just want them to respect it. Being vegetarian is just a type of lifestyle. Everyone has a lifestyle, whether it be a religion or being extremely in love with fitness or anything else; everyone should respect it, even if you don't understand why they chose that lifestyle. Vegetarians and even vegans aren't out to attack meat-eaters and force them into eating salads all day. We may encourage it but we should all understand that everyone has a reason for what they do and more importantly, for what they eat.
I've actually wanted to be a vegetarian ever since I can remember, I was just never strong enough to leave the lifestyle I had been so used to my whole life; that is until I moved out and went to college. I started cooking my own food and read a lot on being vegetarian and vegan. I watched documentaries that made me cry for nights on end about the truth farm animals go through. It hurt my heart so much that I haven't been able to look at meat the same way since.
Being vegetarian doesn't make me a better person, it doesn't make me a hero; it's just a way of finding who I'm supposed to be. Everything we do, even the foods we eat, defines who we are and being vegetarian defines me. Throughout the year of being vegetarian, I've heard all kinds of things against vegetarianism like how vegetarians aren't actually helping animals. But many people focus on the bigger picture, and think we're not helping wild animals and that is completely true, although I wish it wasn't. But I am helping some species that have been held almost as slaves since the beginning of time. It's called baby steps and I intend on taking every single one of those steps until the world finds a way to make our home a better place for every single creature living here, not just humans.
