Over the past 30 days, 31 to be exact I have been vegetarian. Further, vegetarian in China—if you’ve ever been or lived in China you understand the difficulty. Why did I become a vegetarian you ask? Well, like all great experiences in my life it started off as a dare. Yes, a dare! One of my classmates, a vegetarian, dared me to be vegetarian for one whole month, I will not disclose what the bet was, just know it was a good one 😉 . My love for bets and dares lead me to an eye opening experience that I will share with all of you.
- Not succumbing to peer pressure
Being in university is also harder. When you are constantly surrounded by your peers who would say “No one will know”, “1 month is too long”, “Just have a little” the temptation can overcome you. For me, I had to tune out all the outside pressure and focus on my goal.
- Sticking to your convictions
Honey we all came into this world an original, don’t make it turn you into a copy. Just imagine if we all stuck with our beliefs. A good tip I learnt was switching from “I can’t” to “I won’t” By saying “I won’t” it gives you the power and backs your conviction. “I can’t” makes your goal a punishment, which will ultimately make you fail.
- Being comfortable standing out
This one was definitely a big one in China. Meat is everywhere and growing up in the U.S. south I have seen my share of meat, but nothing like China has to offer. You will most likely get a look of confusion when you say no meat.
- Empathy
I can admit, I was one of those people that would ask vegetarians, vegans…why they would even consider going meatless. But boy oh boy, when you’ve walked in the shoes of someone else you can begin to understand the other half A LOT better. Stop picking on my vegetarians :p!
- Accepting isolation
When you go out for lunch or dinner you have to know the crowd you will be eating with. Sometimes I wouldn’t go out for dinner or lunch with my meat eating friends because there would be no vegetarian options. At the same time, it was great having meals with my veggies (shout out to my veggie crew).
- Power of habits
I can tell you, in the beginning it was really hard. I was nearly about to stop the first week. However, after the second week it seemed like a breeze. That’s even the reason at day 31 I am still a vegetarian. I challenge everyone, set a goal and do it for 1 month (Everyday), and it will become a habit.
- You have the power to influence
My friend’s dare influenced me, and he was able to involve others in the dare as well. Some of my other classmates have also gone vegetarian and tried for 1 week, 2 weeks, and even reaching my 1 month.
So, will you try going vegetarian, what will you do this month?
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