Becoming a vegan is complicated in ways I wasn't expecting.

For instance, everyone thinks you're a freak, or you're part of a collective vegan cult. I'm probably not in the right mindset to write about this today- maybe I'll take another stab on another day when I'm feeling more empathetic.

Right now I'm just frustrated. A lot of people, upon finding out that I went vegan, are literally freaked. Some responses I get:

" Oh, so now you're a vegan?! Come ON, already"

"Oh, geez- here we go"

" What the Eff do you eat?"

" Now I can't talk to you about ANYTHING"

.....really? It's not like I have some sexual hangup that involves carrots.... and veganism is not my religion. I'm just choosing to eat differently, and it's 100% positive. What could ever be negative about trying to reduce my footprint on this planet? What could be wrong with trying to take better care of my own body? What could be wrong about taking compassion on abused animals?

I'll tell you what's wrong. A lot of people who are vegan, are very judgmental. It's their way or the highway. You see, with every lifestyle comes an extreme, if you want to go there. I do not. I did make the change for me, personally. I don't think ingesting an animal is unethical. I do believe the way we have lent ourselves to extreme, disgusting mistreatment of these animals is horrific, and causes more problems than the average person realizes. It's just about educating yourself, really. I was in denial about it for a long time. I had watched some videos of what was happening in the industry and I knew it was only going to take one or two more to compel me to never touch a hamburger or chicken wing again. And believe me when I say, I loved chicken wings.

So, yeah, I made a change for myself. If I had diabetes and said I didn't want to eat cake anymore, would you be as freaked out by my decision? I don't think so. I'm not a member of PETA, I'm not going to toss red paint on you when you walk by, I'm not going to bat the fried chicken out of your hand if you eat it in front of me (although that's a pretty humorous visual).

Some parts of this lifestyle change were crazy easy for me, and some were difficult (cheese, to be exact). But I've never really deprived myself of anything, and I've got the booty to prove it. It's not going to hurt me to give up a few things. It's going to make me healthier, let my blood run easier, protect me from a load of diseases and problems directly linked to consuming animal. You should be happy for me.