Or vegans. Or any other variation thereof. xD I'm just going to use "vegetarian," because it's simpler.

So, yes. Any current vegetarians? Past vegetarians? Future vegetarians? People who know vegetarians, even? What's your story? What are your thoughts? Any yummy recipes you'd like to share, or advice for a college student trying to survive in a not-quite-vegetarian friendly environment? Anything else on the subject that I haven't asked? Chat away!

Personally, I've been a vegetarian for roughly eight years now (since I was about ten.) We used to eat a lot of fast food when I was younger, and there was this period of time where I kept finding bits of bone in the cheeseburgers. It really freaked me out, because I'd never really grasped the fact that I was eating cows until then, so I thought about it for a couple of weeks and brought it up to my parents. Luckily, they were super supportive, did a lot of research, and even cut out meat with me. I haven't eaten it since then, and the smell actually makes me nauseous now, so I highly doubt I'll ever go back (moral and health reasons factor in a bunch, too, of course!)

I also feel like I should mention that I have no qualms with anyone who eats meat. xD People seem to worry about that a lot, but it's a super personal choice that only you can make. So, even if you're a strict carnivore, you're welcome to pop in here and share your thoughts, too!

(Stupid Safari, I had a reply all typed up to this and then in froze up on me!)

I was a vegetarian for years, and I still eat a mostly vegetarian diet. I didn't eat meat because I didn't like it and it grossed me out (much like what you've said above), and it's still kind of the same thing although I've gotten over most of that with age.

It's definitely hard to live with meat-eaters or in a non-vegetarian friendly environment, that's partly why I started eating meat again because I had moved in with my dad who lives way out in the country and pretty much only eats meat (and also didn't support my "hippie diet") so I would have had to go out of my way to not eat meat. The best advice I can give you is just to do your best. You said you're in college, so I'm assuming (correct me if I'm wrong) you either live in the dorms or with roommates and have a fairly small food budget? I eat out A LOT (which , I need to stop doing, but I've been saying that for years), and I almost never eat meat when I go out. I ask for no meat at sandwich places and at taco bell and other similar places. Almost anywhere will alter a dish to suit a vegetarian as long as you ask (including the student center). And for eating with roommates, this blog might have some good suggestions! http://www.kitchentreaty.com. It's about a vegetarian who is married to a meat eater and all of their recipes are friendly to both.

If you'd like some recipes, I have a ton if you want to message me :). I actually have a food blog, haha, which I need to update, but it's got a whole lot of vegetarian and meat-optional recipes on there!

Me and bacon are best friends lol but it is everyones choice for sure (:

-agrees with Farewell- :P

My cousins are Seventh Day Adventist and are vegetarians up until a certain age, even then they try meat and they dont/won't eat it anymore. Family holidays were no problem, we would bring our turkey and they'd eat their tofu turkey from the organic vegitarian store. 

When I was younger I heard of being a vegitarian, tried it, and lasted for a week when I smelled that fried chicken. IM SO WEAK! XD

I raise and butcher my own chickens and possibly cows soon and I do eat them because I'm a farmer and it's what I do and a good steak is like nothing else to me.

I don't think I was much help :P go to Pinterest or google and search vegan recipes, even look and see if there is an organic store nearby. 

I'm not vegetarian or vegan because I love meat, dairy, eggs, etc. However, I think it's disgusting how animals are mass produced for humans and they're treated so horribly.. So I try to buy only local farm raised/organic/free range type products, so I know where the stuff is coming from and I feel a bit better that the animals at least had a chance to live out their animal lives for a while before being turned into food! Plus, it's WAY better for you than the 'regular' stuff and also tastes way better since it's all natural! That being said, I mostly only eat chicken, some turkey and beef maybe 2 or 3 times a month when I'm craving some iron. I eat quite a bit of fish and seafood as well. I don't eat pork products or veal.

It's definitely a personal choice. I tried it for 2 weeks in middle school for a school project and honestly, I can't do it. I made it the 2 weeks, but lord it almost killed me. I love my meat.

I was raised hunting, so I see the vast majority of animals as food, nothing else. I see no issue with raising animals strictly for that purpose. But again, everyone has their own way of doing things.

I'm a vegetarian.  I started when I joined the Army because the meat in the DFAC was horrible and I'd wanted to do it before but couldn't commit (couldn't hop off bacon or chicken).  Not really an animal rights activist or anything, I just don't really like eating meat.

If anything I eat is cross contaminated with meat (cooked with it, broth, etc) I'll get sick.

I don't focus on getting nutrients, I just eat what I want (scavenge?) and cook dinner every night.  My girlfriend is gluten intolerant so dinner is usually veggies cooked some kind of way or something vegetarian (I'll cook her chicken, though).  Kind of a special diet household... haha.

There should be a quote function or something so I can reply to everyone without getting everything confused. xD So, BRIEF GENERAL RESPONSE TO EVERYONE.

I'm loving all the different viewpoints. It's interesting. ^^ To Samantha, I'd love to check out your blog. To Duckie and Absinthe, it's cool that you tried it, even if it didn't work out. I've heard the first couple of weeks are usually dreadful, although I didn't have a problem. xD

Hahah Farewell's response is me in a nutshell. :)

I can sit and eat at least a box of MorningStar bacon... fake bacon... facon. xD

hahah I thought I was the only one that added F's in the front of words where things are fake!  Like on my skinny jeans that have the front pockets sewed closed I call them Fockets. bahahaha  Or my fake coach purse is called my foach! hahah

Oh tronic you Derp.

well Im completely Different, I hate eating vegetables & fruit.. I mainly live off meat.. XD

I love my meat, and I don't think I could handle a vegetarian diet. I have no willpower whatsoever and I would probably die from a meat overdose after the first day.

I treat vegetarianism/veganism a lot like religion.. I respect your decision as your decision and good on you for it! But don't treat me like i'm committing a crime because I don't feel the same way. That's all I ask. Most people have been gracious enough not to be pushy about it, but there's the odd few that need to be reminded that not everyone feels the way they do about everything, lol.

Countless times i've been treated like a murderer or something because I love a good steak. And it's vice versa, too. I think it's disgusting behaviour when people shove meat in a vegetarian/vegans face and make snide comments. I was at a party with danny's friends once recently and there was a girl there who was a vegetarian, and the guys thought it would be HILARIOUS to squeeze the juice from their steaks all over her salad. Not only is that a despicable thing to do, but she's allergic to red meat, and if she ate that, the result could have been horrendous.

People need to not be such jerks about other people's ways of life.

Shae, I agree 100%. And those are the militant individuals that I can't stand and who need to just keep their opinions to themselves.

Fockets. Brilliant. xD I have a pair of jeans like that and I HATE THEM. D:

I can't stand it when people get all high and mighty about their diet, whether you eat meat or don't. If you want to eat meat, eat meat. If you don't, don't. I didn't eat in the cafeteria in high school because people would invite themselves to sit down next to me daily and tell me how unnatural it was for me to be a vegetarian. I stopped going in there when someone tried to shove their hamburger in my mouth. It's disgusting behavior. I'm not shoving my beliefs down your throat, don't shove yours down mine, figuratively or literally.

I was a vegetarian for two years in middle school. Not for the health reasons, but because I couldn't get over the sad pictures of cute baby chickens and cows.

The first thing I did when I made the decision to go back to a more balance, regular diet was bacon for breakfast xD. I will say that I wasn't a healthy vegetarian--I took no supplements and ate mostly junk food. There's definitely a balance there that one has to adhere to, if they want to stay healthy.

Oh, definitely. College has been a pain because my school neglects to include vegetarian options on a regular basis, so I've lived off snack bar food (nachos, breadsticks, french fries, and grilled cheese) for the past few months. Even in the few days I've been home for the holidays, the difference in how I feel is astounding. xDD I try to throw healthy food in there, too, but if you live in the dorms you have to pay like 1k for food, so I have to eat the school's food so we don't waste all that money, and by the time I eat food from the snack bar, I'm just not hungry anymore. :c

Then I come home, and my mom's like a vegetarian food master after the eight or so years. I've gone from like barely being able to move to hardly sitting down. We're going to try to speak to the college about perhaps waiving the requirement to have a meal plan so I can eat healthy food. xDD But yes, you have to do it right. ^^