The one week vegetarian challenge

Hi, my names Hannah, I am 17 years old and Live in England. I have been vegetarian for 2 years.

I became a vegetarian simply because Icouldn't win a battle as a meat eater against a Vegetarian Friend.

I used to be practically a carnivore, I'd eat meat all the time, every day, and even now, ashamed to say, I get craving on the odd day (I have never acted upon my craving since becoming vegetarian). I hardly ate/eat any vegetables but I'm not overweight.. So..I was arguing my case all fired up and competitive in a little friendly debate and suddenly I paused for a moment or two.. I thought, what this guy is saying is true, I can't really be siding against him, what he's saying is understandable. I have always adored animals ever since I can remember and now that I was old enough to make my own decisions in life why couldn't I become a vegetarian? So I gave in to him, told him he was right and the debate subsided.

I then decided to try being vegetarian for a week, I think I called it 'Veggie for a week' challenge.

I was doing well until I gobbled up a few mini marshmallows, not for a split second thinking they could have gelatin hidden inside there squishy appearance.

So I tried again, but as a pescetarian. So the only creature I was eating was fish for about 6months until I saw a TV comedy show where they killed one.. In which I cried my eyes out for hours.. :( Poor fish! I've had my gelatin slip ups/accidents I admit, feeling extremely guilty! But I press on.

I've tried being vegan but as a teen in a family struggling to pay even the rent it was hard to buy special food and expensive to constantly buy healthy foods all the time and I felt bad for my mom, putting extra stress on her even though I'm independent and cooked my own food. I got quite poorly because of those reasons so I decided it would be better for ME to stay as a vegetarian.

I am passionate about being a vegetarian and trying to care for the planet/global warming and if we can TOGETHER as VEGETARIANS/VEGANS inspire even one person to change their diet to meat free then at least its a step closer to a happier world.

PS. If every one of us inspired ONE person to go meatless imagine the difference we could make in ten years time. I am going to collect inspirational vegetarian/vegan stories to share with everyone. If you think your story will inspire others, please share with me by sending it to info@veglov.com. I will post your stories on this www.veglov.com blog. I believe everyone has his/her own story, I think it must be great when we can share our stories and inspire others. Let’s make the world a better place. ~ Xiao Kang.