I had always been bombarded with questions about my lifestyle, most of the questions loaded with ignorance that I would simply neglect to answer. Until I was dealt the outlandish, haunting question "what does it prove?"

It was a question that I had never asked myself, why would anyone ever ask that? This was a question I couldn't ignore, one that actually seemed important. I felt a strange, numbing sensation traveling through me as I began to wonder: what did it prove?

Did it prove that I loved animals more than anyone in the world? Did it prove that animals would love me more than others because of my eating habits? Did it prove that I was better than people who did eat meat? No. It didn't prove any of that nonsense. Nor would it prove anything to the person asking the question, but it did prove something to me. Perhaps it made me come to one of the biggest conclusions that I had ever reached in my life, I didn't care if it proved anything. In fact, I knew I didn't have anything I needed to prove.

Vegetarianism is simply a part of me. It one of the many things that makes me who I am. I know who I am and I don't have to prove myself to anyone. When answering the question the inquiring mind pressed upon me, I made a comparison to religion.

--Amy is a college student studying freelance writing and art through correspondence. She has previously been published in The International Library of Poetry and The Islander. People are given the right to choose what they believe in, what path and set of guidelines, morals and ethics they wish to follow. The right to stray away from things that are forbidden in their lifestyle, things that they could never bring themselves to do. I choose not to eat meat or products that were created due to the death of an animal. I choose not to wear clothing containing the skin or fur of animal. I choose to lend my voice to animals who are not able to speak for themselves, yet feel physical pain just as I would. That is my choice. This world is created by such an eclectic mix of people. Everyone is an individual with their own mind and their own beliefs. Diversity is such an amazing thing, not everyone will necessarily understand why I've chosen this path, nor I will understand the one that they live out daily. But I have learned it is incredibly difficult to make someone want to transform who they are just to accommodate your wishes, I definitely would never want to be in those circumstances. For years endless lists of leaders and unknown citizens have lectured about tolerance and acceptance. I still struggle to understand why something as minor as an eating pattern can be so hard to accept and respect, just as skin color, gender or religious differences. I only wish to be given the acceptance I've given to others all of my life, even if they lead a life that I do not understand. It doesn't matter if I don't understand, they shouldn't have to prove themselves to me to gain my approval of their life. In simple terms: it's none of my business. I refuse to apologize for who I am, or walk away from what I believe to fit into the normal mold of society. But, when the occasional moments come, when find myself layered in doubt, worrying if anything I believe in matters to anyone else- I look into of the eyes of my pets and hold them in my arms. I know that I love them and they love me, that's all the proof I need to know I've become the person I'm meant to be.