The vegetarian post

I have been a vegetarian for almost a year and a half now.

I feel that it would lend credibility to my argument if I explained what I was like in the past. Basically, I was a huge carnivore. Double bacon cheeseburgers were my main vice; I could eat a two-pound burger in half an hour, easily, when I was in eighth grade. Yeah, take a moment to think about how disgusting that is. It goes without saying that I ate pulled pork sandwiches like there was no tomorrow, and that I firmly believed the best seasoning for food was bacon bits. That's why I get irritated when people suggest I don't know what I'm missing-trust me, I do.

Why, then, did I become a vegetarian? Well, there were a lot of small factors that added up. For one thing, it dawned on me that if I'm so squeamish of my own muscles and veins, why would I eat others' muscles and veins? From that point on, meat became kind of creepy. After all, it's no fun when you can't think about what you're eating because you're afraid you'll be grossed out by it. Another factor is that I love animals, and it seemed hypocritical to say I was for animal rights and then go eat an animal. The icing on the cake was the documentary "Food, Inc.", which we watched in health class. It documented the way we get meat in America. To be honest, the way meat is produced is disgusting. The animals are kept in squalid conditions, the workers are exploited, it's often unsanitary, it wreaks havoc on the environment, etc.

All in all, I'm happy being a vegetarian. No one in my family took me seriously when I said I wanted to stop eating meat, so I'm proud of myself for sticking with it as long as I have. I feel better about my eating habits. And I don't resent people who eat meat-in fact, I don't really even miss it anymore.

In short, big changes are not as hard to make as you would think.

Babies

It's not that I dislike babies. In fact, I harbor no bad feelings toward them. Congratulations on the new baby. Props to parents. I just wouldn't want one.

People are really disbelieving when I tell them that I honestly wouldn't want a baby. An older adopted child, maybe. But certainly not a wailing alarm clock. People tell me that "deep down, everyone wants a baby" and "you can never feel the same about an adopted child as you can about your own child" (which I believe is utterly untrue). I have never felt that "maternal instinct" toward babies.

Part of it springs from my natural squeamishness. You have to get blood tests and IVs and shots when you're pregnant, all so you can painfully eject a tiny, screaming mass from your body. Then there's the diaper changing, spitting up, and various health problems babies always seem to have. I always perceive them as being extremely fragile, too; whenever I hold one, I freeze up like I'm holding a raw turkey stuffed full of dynamite.

Maybe someday I'll adopt a child. I like kids, just not babies. I just wouldn't want to bring a baby into the world if I wasn't completely enthusiastic about it, or if I felt it would personally hinder me.

Mrs. Hilston would totally understand this.