I ate a peanut butter and pickle sandwich for a snack a moment ago. Is that weird? Is being vegan weird?
Whether I like it or not, being vegan sometimes makes me feel different. It was a strong feeling in the first few months and has gradually faded, at least from within. That said, I had a couple experiences in the past week where I felt like a total weirdo for being vegan.
I went out for dinner and was really appreciative when my friends made sure we went to a place where I would have vegan options. It had been awhile since I had seen one of them and she learned only a day or two before our dinner that I was vegan. It was kind of a strange meal. I felt like I was pitied because I “couldn’t” eat the meat dishes (we went out for tapas), and I also felt like the meat dishes were purposefully moved as far away from me as possible on the table. And when I offered my vegan plates to share, I got this reaction of, “No no no, that’s your food. You can’t eat our stuff so we won’t eat yours. I hope your food is good, though!” I wasn’t offended and I knew the intention wasn’t malicious, but it made me feel really weird. So I drank more sangria to take the edge off.
Yesterday, I went rogue and had a slice of cake at work. I was also offered a slice of cheesy custard coffee cake. I declined, saying that I had already been bad by eating the cake and didn’t want to be further bad and eat cheese. Without getting into specifics, let me just say that I started ranting about how cheese is dairy and dairy isn’t good for you and dairy DOES hurt cows and I don’t want to argue about whether or not it’s cool to eat cheese. The response I got from my rant: “I wasn’t attacking you. I didn’t know about milking cows and hormones. I was asking a lot of questions because I really didn’t know and I want to understand. I’m sorry!” Whoa. When did I become a defensive vegan?! WEIRD!
Ahhhh! All that aside, I’m really happy that I’ve chosen to turn veganese. It’s brought a lot of joy and knowledge into my life. It’s a lifestyle that I am extremely proud of. If that makes me weird, then I am a total weirdo! –Melissa
Turning Veganese 
I think being weird is definitely a good thing. 🙂
Im so happy and feel better in and out going vegan. Its been three wonderful months! Vegans rock!
I find that becoming defensive is occasional, and totally dependent on how people treat you. The dumber people are, the more annoyed I become. I’ve just gotten to a point where if you don’t want to eat my blackened BBQ tofu, then I just get to eat it all.
Very cool of your friends to chose a place where you didn’t have to ask the server about every dish, only to have him or her reply, “Ummmm, I’m not sure, let em check with the chef,” and then return with the response, “It’s fried in butter and lard. Is that OK?” Not so cool of them to “pity” you. I hope you returned the favor. . .
I find myself getting defensive on occasion too. I think it’s normal (or at least the good kind of weird). We didn’t used to have to defend our food choices, and it’s amazing how much people care about what vegans eat (or don’t eat) and why.
Our omni friends don’t really ever have to defend themselves for eating meat or dairy, so why do we have to defend ourselves for choosing to abstain.
I’m glad I’m not the only one!!
Peanut butter and pickle sandwich. Definitely weird. 🙂 The rest, not so weird. It’s kind of a natural evolution. I really have to hold my tongue sometimes!