Day 1: I went into my month with lots of determination and vegetarian recipes on hand. I woke up very early to wait in line for tickets for a music festival, and while waiting in line, my friends and I were blessed with a grilled cheese food truck. I remember thinking, as I was eating my fried mashed potato balls, “This is gonna be easy. I feel great.” Mental state: happy, full, and determined.

Day 3: The biggest obstacle I’ve encountered so far is the fact that I can no longer enjoy Panda Express’s signature orange chicken, aka one of my favorite foods on this good earth. The other is how incredibly hungry I am. I’m not starving, but my meals have become less hearty since I started the diet. Nonetheless, I’m a generally happy person, and I don’t like that I’ve been snapping at people. Mental state: anxious about the future.

Day 6: Oh geez this is hard. I couldn’t have chicken nuggets at Jack in the Box. There is literally nothing on the menu that doesn’t contain meat. I had to have a teriyaki chicken salad without the teriyaki chicken, which is just a crime against nature. Mental state: annoyed at Jack in the Box.

Day 8: My life is in anarchy. My dad made bacon for a Sunday morning breakfast. It was like a scene in a romantic movie. It glistened on the table, just waiting for me to come and take a bite. It looked perfect, serene, effervescent. It took all of my strength not to throw myself across the table. In all seriousness, these cravings have been more than distracting. I’ve been forgetful, spacey, and on edge for the past few days. Hopefully these cravings will subside or go away all together. Mental state: MY SELF-DISCIPLINE IS HANGING BY A THREAD.

Day 12: So far, the only thing that has matched with what many vegetarians credit as a benefit of the diet is the fact that I’ve lost 2 pounds, although I feel like that was mostly water. I do feel like I’ve been eating a less than recommended amount of protein-rich foods since the start of the diet. Mental state: skeptical about overall health benefits.

Day 16: My dearest readers, I have failed you, and for that I apologize. I ate meat before the month was up. It happened on Easter Sunday, and I hope you can understand the situation I was put in. Not only was it Easter Sunday, a holiday notorious for celebrating with food, I was eating dinner with not one, not two, not even three, but four Italian grandmothers who made tri-tip specially for the occasion. The only other  option for me that night was meager salad, bread, and the disappointed stares of my loved ones.

In conclusion, veganism/vegetarianism is really a personal choice and will vary from person to person. As a meat-loving vegetarian, it’s pretty obvious this lifestyle wasn’t for me. But after watching  “Cowspiracy”, I am definitely more aware of the role the meat-industry has for the environment. Even if you don’t plan on converting to an animal-product free diet, I highly recommend watching the documentary in order to be more aware of the changes your diet makes in the world.