I met Corwin when I was 16 and he was 17. We went to the same high school and we became really close, good friends. During the summer between 10th and 11th grade, we grew closer and closer until we finally fulfilled all of our friend’s prophecies and started dating on July 10th, 2004. We were very much in love and nothing could separate us...except for one thing. Corwin had been a vegetarian since he was eight years old.

I had never given much thought to vegetarianism before I met Corwin. When we first started dating, it wasn’t an issue. But as the months went on, I began to feel more and more uncomfortable about eating meat. Corwin is the most compassionate and smartest person I know, and if the smartest person you know does something, then most likely it’s a good idea. Of course, I was all caught up in my feminist tirade of “No man is going to make me change MY diet!”, so I avoided the issue.

The issue may have been avoided, but the uncomfortable feelings didn’t go away. Finally, I told Corwin I would eat vegetarian when I was with him. However, I still felt the sneaking feeling of guilt when I ate a hamburger when he wasn’t around. Finally I faced up to my fears and got online. I researched vegetarianism. I researched the HECK out of vegetarianism! Factory farming, bovine growth hormones, the environmental harm; I was shocked by what I found. So now I had a choice to make. Did I stay true to my independent-righteous-woman mindset and keep eating meat, or did I follow my heart and do what would make me feel right about myself, consequently facing the fact that I had changed for a guy?

The next day I told my family, friends, and Corwin that I was going to become a vegetarian.

The reaction I got, while not horrible, was definitely not enthusiastic. My mom and friends thought I wouldn’t last, that Corwin and I would break up, and I’d go back to chomping away on my hamburgers and chicken nuggets. They thought I was changing so he would like me more. I was accused of being anti-women and an insult to girls everywhere.

After my mom got over the initial shock, she was very helpful. I could tell her heart wasn’t really in it, but she decided to humor me anyway. Since I had decided to become a vegetarian gradually, she bought groceries and lots of fresh veggies to help ease vegetarian meals into my diet. I finally gave up all meat in April of 2003!

So, here’s my status as of today...I’m an 18-year-old vegetarian with a wonderful soul mate of almost two years. I am most certainly still an independent woman with a mind of her own, a far cry from the “weak flower” my friends accused me of being. I did not become a vegetarian for Corwin, but I don’t think I would have “seen the light” without him. He and I have both changed each other, but for the better. Ultimately the decision was made on my own, and for me alone.

--Natalie is a life-loving student/airbrush artist who absolutely LOVES to eat. She loves to read, do yoga, listen to music, sew, go backpacking, and not buy stuff. ("Some people say cheap... I say 'financially efficient.'") She plans to study art and philosophy in college and has0 a long list of things to do before she dies, including thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, moving to Holland, having lots of cats, and being a NOLS instructor.