I am a 20-year old Multimedia and Design student named Tamara...who is always a bit crazy due to lack of sleep and an overabundance of caffeine.
It is now my third week of “dabbling” in vegetarianism. I’m not sure now how many people I know, know that, but the number is low enough that I feel like I need a public outlet. For those of you not in the know, I am trying to eliminate meat from my diet for both health and ethical reasons.
I had decided from the beginning that I wasn’t going to quit meat-eating cold-turkey (ha ha), because I’ve tried to do that with other things with little success. So, I decided that I would attempt to stick to vegetarian meals during the week (Monday through Friday), and relax my rules on the weekends. Now, over the past two-and-some weeks, this did get broken at least once a week, for various reasons (to prevent fresh meat in my fridge from going bad, for instance), but overall, I have eaten less and less meat/animal products each week. And the results have been… interesting.
Firstly, my stomach adjusted surprisingly quickly to the lack of meat. To try and put it gently, meat now seems to have an unpleasant laxative effect. Secondly, I’ve been intrigued by the vegetarian options available to me which were previously unknown. Thirdly— it’s an interesting experiment in psychology, both for yourself and the people around you. I’ve definitely seen part of the backlash already, which will be compounded by my family when they find out, but I have also been on the receiving edge of support from some unexpected places. It also really, REALLY helps that I am living on my own and buying my own food (2/3 of my family’s daily meals tend to consist of chicken or beef).
Will I be able to keep going? I think so; it’s getting easier as time goes on. I’m curious to see some of the longer-term effects, though (after one month, two months, six months, etc.). I will say this: the battle against meat is definitely 80% mental. It’s so easy to change what goes into one’s mouth, but unless there’s a very compelling reason(s) to do so, one’s head will not accept the change. What’s the remaining 20%? Other people: the naysayers, the mockers, the puzzled people who say, “but… don’t you need the protein from meat to live? Isn’t milk good for you? Why deprive yourself?” It’s been amazing how many people have a knee-jerk reaction against vegetarianism/veganism, without really understanding why. But I will stick to my guns and my vegetables for now, and see where else this adventure will take me… so then, even if it ultimately fails, I can at least say that I’ve tried it, and if it succeeds, I will have first-hand accounts of a life without meat. Win-win either way, no?
I’m a straight-A student. I was told today by three different people that my grades were “intimidating”… and that (for two of them), this was a factor in not joining my group for a major project because they felt like they weren’t as good as me and couldn’t live up to my “standards”. I didn’t realize this sort of thing still happened in university.
Winterlude 2011, Ottawa, ON. Half skating, half sliding across the frozen canal in winter boots is very dangerous, especially if you have an expensive camera in your hand.
Professor: “So would you like to answer the question then?”
Student: “What was the question?”
Professor: “Why are you not paying attention in class and are on Wikipedia instead?”
Student: “It’s more informative.”
Roommate L: “I never remember the exact date of my girlfriend’s birthday, I just know it’s around September 20th or so. So whenever I know it’s coming up, I ask her, ‘I don’t have a calendar on me right now, what day of the week is your birthday on this year, so that I can book it off for work?’”
Me: “So… if my boyfriend/guy I’m seeing ever says to me, ‘so that I can book it off for work, what day of the week is your birthday on this year?’, I know that he’s forgotten. That’s good to know; thanks!”
Roommate L: “… Uh oh, I think I just screwed some poor guy over. But that’s ok, as long as my girlfriend doesn’t find out!”
———————
Roommate De: “I’m not a date person; I never remember anyone’s birthday.”
Roommate Da: “What’s [your girlfriend’s] birthday?”
Roommate De: (answers correctly)
Roommate Da: “See, you do know some birthdays!”
Roommate De: “Yes, but that one is a life or death situation!”
———————
Roommate De (to Roommate F): “Why didn’t you tell us it was your birthday?!”
Roommate F: “Because I was afraid (Roommate B) would do something horrible!”
———————
Roommate De: “This one time, I thought my girlfriend’s birthday was on March 17th. And I thought that was kinda cool, being on St. Patrick’s Day and all. So I recorded myself singing and playing ‘Happy Birthday’ on the guitar… and some St. Patrick’s Day songs as well, and gave it to her. Turns out her birthday was actually on the 27th. Whoops.”
So, as I mentioned before, my sole resolution for this year was to stop complaining about school. Have I been successful thus far? I suppose that’s questionable; complaining seems to be an ingrained habit… but in terms of just becoming more aware of complaining and complaints? Absolutely!
For starters, I am very conscious now about what I say when I am with other people, as it is so easy to start complaining about something when other people are too. You really start noticing how much other people complain when you’re trying not to! It’s quite amazing. And you come to a realization that complaining is pretty much useless. There are certain situations in which it might be acceptable to complain, but in most cases, it is not.
If it’s already happened, or cannot be changed, there’s no point in complaining about it… just accept it, and move on. This is something I tell myself daily now, and it has been a great help in keeping calm and non-reactive. Overall, not too bad for only 20 days.
