Hello. My name is Ellsie and I've been a vegetarian for 3 years, vegan for 6 months... though I'm not sure I can still call myself one. About a hour ago, I ate half a bowl of noodles that my father bought me before realizing that it had egg in it. I feel awful. I'm the worst vegan ever. I'm often too meek to ask people if what they're giving me is vegan. I don't want to be a burden, first of all. When I first went vegetarian 3 years ago, my mother said: "Why do you insist on making my life hard?" and I felt just terrible- but I couldn't continue to eat meat without loathing myself for all the harm I was causing.
Second, I've only been vegan for six months, and I've seen many eye-rolls, heard many annoyed sighs- and, as confident as I am in my convictions, they really get to me.
My family is carnivorous. My house always smells of burning flesh, and I'm sick of it. I don't know anyone like me- vegan- and being surrounded by all of these carnivores makes me feel absurd. I feel quite insane- making a big deal out of something that everyone around me sees as trivial and unimportant. Throwing myself over a moth to protect them from my family. Tearfully begging my father to use no-kill mouse traps. ("They're not pets! They're pests!")
In essence, I really need vegan company- a vegan sanctuary... I hope I can find that here. Support and guidance, because I'm still finding my way.
Second, I've only been vegan for six months, and I've seen many eye-rolls, heard many annoyed sighs- and, as confident as I am in my convictions, they really get to me.
My family is carnivorous. My house always smells of burning flesh, and I'm sick of it. I don't know anyone like me- vegan- and being surrounded by all of these carnivores makes me feel absurd. I feel quite insane- making a big deal out of something that everyone around me sees as trivial and unimportant. Throwing myself over a moth to protect them from my family. Tearfully begging my father to use no-kill mouse traps. ("They're not pets! They're pests!")
In essence, I really need vegan company- a vegan sanctuary... I hope I can find that here. Support and guidance, because I'm still finding my way.
. It's difficult for people when someone around them changes, especially when those changes force them to confront their own behaviors. It makes them uncomfortable, so it's easier to pick on the odd one out. All you can do is follow your heart. I think eventually, people will come to accept it. Sometimes you have to make a clear statement like "look, this is who I am, and you don't have the right to be disrespectful to me simply because you don't understand me."
