"I'll have the Santa Fe Chicken Salad," My mom says, folding her menu.
"Chicken Fingers," my sister says.
"Smothered Chicken, please," My dad orders before taking a drink of his root beer.

The waitress looks at me expectantly. "The Veggie Pizza," I begin, "And can they go really light on the cheese please?" The Veggie Pizza isn't my favorite dish at Applebee's. The mushrooms are good, but I don't enjoy the cooked spinach mixed with cheese, especially if they put too much cheese on it. But it's the only option for me tonight. I'm not only a vegetarian, but I'm also lactose-intolerant. This makes menus seem like difficult word searches as I try to find something without meat or dairy in it. I don't think I realized what work it would take to eliminate meat from my diet when I first decided that I wanted to be a vegetarian.

I had no idea that a book I chose in sixth grade would completely alter my diet. I was just twelve years old when I picked out the small, brightly colored book with drawings of animals on the cover. The book was called "Peaceful Kingdom - Random Acts of Kindness" and I still have it in my possession today. The book reads much like the ever-popular book, "Chicken Soup for the Soul," except every story in it is about an animal helping other animals or people. I was amazed as I read a story about a robin that saved a family of three from becoming asphyxiated by exhaust fumes; another story told of a man overcoming his depression of ten years by swimming with a dolphin.

Interspersed between the stories in my book are pages entitled "Ways to Return the Kindness." The book offered ways that the reader can help animals out by adopting a dog from a shelter rather than a pet store or by placing the lint from the dryer outside for birds to use in their nests. The most interesting idea, however, was one I had never even thought about before. The book suggested going vegetarian to help the environment: "...it takes fifty-five acres of decimated rainforest to make a quarter-pound hamburger. The amount of water used just to make one of these burger patties is equivalent to the amount used by a family of four for one month." (John Robbins)

I was shocked. The quarter-pounder with cheese was my favorite sandwich at McDonald's. I was amazed that by eating just one I was using up the same amount of water that my family would use in a month! The book also stated "Vegetarians are, as a rule, thinner than non-vegetarians." I had just begun to really care about my looks and was concerned about my weight for the first time. Going vegetarian just seemed like the natural thing to do, for the animals and for myself.

Today my reasons for being vegetarian are not quite as vain as my sixth grade motives. After reading "Peaceful Kingdom" I began to look at my food differently. I realized that my quarter-pounder with cheese had once been a big, brown-eyed cow. As I grew older I learned that some of the chickens used to make my chicken fingers were raised in cages too small for the birds to move about in. The "Charlotte's Web" type of family farm I had always envisioned my food was coming from disappeared. I started to lose my appetite for meat; first I stopped eating red meat and pork. It wasn't until this summer that I completely lost a taste for chicken and fish.

The real difficulty in becoming vegetarian, however, was not giving up familiar foods. The true challenge has been getting my family to accept my new diet. When I first talked to my mom about becoming vegetarian, I received a very simple answer: "No." My whining and complaining did nothing to change her mind. Being twelve years old, I hadn't full developed the necessary skills for a debate, or argument even. I just continued to bring up what I wanted during random conversations. This did nothing to help my cause.

I figured I might get some help from my doctor. Surely he could see that there was nothing wrong with not eating meat. I was sadly disappointed. My doctor told me that eliminating meat from my diet wouldn't be a healthy choice; I was growing and needed protein. He did allow me to cut red meat from my diet. At the time my only option was to compromise by being a semi-vegetarian.

Six years later and I still get the occasional lecture about protein from my mom or sister. Now that I have better debating skills and more information about nutrition and vegetarianism, I usually will discuss protein issues.

"Are you sure you're getting enough protein?" My mom will ask after I complain about being tired or feeling sluggish.
"Yes, I drank Silk for breakfast and lunch today and I had some soy nuts this afternoon," I'll answer.
"What about peanut butter? Peanut butter has a lot of protein."
"Yeah, but peanut butter has more fat in it than soy nuts do." I normally will talk more about soy after this statement, or give my mom the Silk carton. It has a lot of information about the history of soy or the health benefits of soy. My sister has also asked me about protein, but she usually sticks to saying that meat has more protein. I've asked her how much more protein is in meat, but neither my sister nor my mom have been able to answer this question.

My diet has greatly changed this summer. I stopped drinking Dairy Ease Ultra-pasteurized milk (it gave me stomachaches) and began to drink Silk soymilk (Silk is a milk-like drink made from soybeans and water. It doesn't taste the same as milk, but it doesn't make me sick to my stomach either). I also started to snack on soy nuts and Soy Delicious Ice Cream. Not only did I add soy to my diet, I also added more fruits and vegetables. I feel better both consciously and physically about what I eat. I no longer have extreme stomachaches from my inability to properly digest lactose, nor do I feel the guilt that I often get after eating meat.

Just because I've stopped eating meat doesn't mean I don't get cravings for it every now and then. A couple of days ago, while looking for the vegetable dip in the fridge I spotted a tray of cocktail shrimp. I have no problem turning down a hamburger nowadays, but the shrimp made me think twice before closing the door. They seemed to haunt me as I sat down and began to eat my carrots. I got them out, thinking I would just have one, and set them by the vegetables. They seemed to call to me, not asking me to spare them, but to eat them. My mom, who was nearby, reminded me, "Seafood is good for you." I picked one up, thought about the texture and taste, and set it back down. I couldn't do it. The tray sat there until I was done eating, as did all of the shrimp.

I get lectured a lot about my eating habits, but it's not often that I turn the tables and criticize my meat-eating friends or family about their diets. I don't see the need to. I don't eat meat because I'm not comfortable with eating animals, just like some people aren't comfortable with eating mushrooms. It doesn't bother me to be around people while they're eating meat, just don't ask me to cook raw meat. I couldn't have done that even before I became a vegetarian.

My vegetarian diet has been six years in the making. I plan to continue learning about vegetarianism and animal rights' as I grow older and go off to college. I'm not sure where my studies will take me, perhaps I will delve deeper into my love for animals and become an animal rights activist at PETA. Or maybe my lactose-intolerance will help me decide to become a vegan and nix all animal products from my diet. The possibilities are endless. For now, however, I'm perfectly content to eat supper with my family, me munching on a mushroom sandwich and drinking Silk while they enjoy their hamburgers and milk.