Lifestyle Choices And Reactions

I decided to be vegetarian when I was 17 and so was all my adult life until nearly 2 years ago. So I was vegetarian for nearly 11 years before becoming vegan. I decided to be vegetarian partly because I didn't like meat much anyway, but partly because I've always seen animals as friends and never thought it right to kill them for food, even less so these days when way more meat is being produced than people know what to do with. All my "family" eat meat and dairy etc, so was nervous about telling them anyway that I wanted to become vegetarian back in 2006. Some of the family members said they didn't mind or didn't really have any reaction. I'm told my mum was vegetarian and at some point vegan, but from what I remember she never tried to stop me eating animal products. I lived with my great aunty and uncle at the time I became vegetarian and they were the ones I had the most issues with. They were the ones who were trying to make me go back to eating meat and went to the point of having a damn good try at hiding meat in my food, then wondering why I didn't touch much. I've never really trusted things like quorn precisely because the meat substitutes and similar things are designed to mimic the meat and dairy products the person wants to avoid. Even now I only buy things like vegan cheese on the odd occasion and if I have someone read the ingredients or bring up the list of ingredients online. Of course everyone finds shopping with or for me a total pain because I'm that person that wants to know where everything comes from why and how, but everyone else for the most part merely wants to go and pick the thing up no matter where it comes from these days it seems. I know there are some people who do read ingredients or look at materials and descriptions etc, but not many and I would quite happily read the information myself if I could. Back to the point ... Because of the reaction I got from telling my family I wanted to be vegetarian, I was also worried about the reaction of my friends at the time. However I was surprised, because I found them so much more supportive than the family. I still remember one of the saying "It that all you wanted to tell us?"! Hahaha" At the time I lost a lot of weight because I never have been great at cooking and there wasn't a massive choice when eating out or eating at college for vegetarians. Normally there would be perhaps 1 vegetarian option and 2 or 3 meat options, or on Sunday there would be no vegetarian options at all except salad or baked potato. Over the years it became easier to find things but I also started making a bit more when I had the motivation to do so. I've also started not really caring what other people think (or trying not to care), because I'm not telling them to do the same as me, just that this is what I do. I therefore found it easier in a way to be vegan more recently. I find it similarly difficult to find vegan options when eating out as I once did vegetarian options. I think that might be as a hotel receptionist pointed out, because people don't know or forget the difference between vegetarian and vegan. It turns out that the "family" members I once thought somewhat supportive are now sadly among those giving me the typical arguement of "if there were no meat-eaters and no one who ate cheese or drank milk, there would be no (insert domesticated farm animals here)". To that I think they're talking out of their bottoms, because there were plenty of wild animals when people left them alone. Another reaction I've had from a family member when telling them about being vegetarian and now vegan was "What made you go like that"? "if you don't have meat or cheese or eggs, how can you enjoy anything?". They seem to think that animal products is all there is on the planet and forget that you can get neutrients from plants just as well. Animals don't think about us when they eat and do whatever they do in their lives, because they are only interested in building themselves up so they can keep themselves alive and look after their own young animals. Such as it is, I try and make my own food more now, because it's cheaper I think and I can choose what I want. Sadly I still loose motivation at times when I'm on my own, especially if I'm staying in one place for an extended period of time. Sexual preference and being polyamorous has also got some rather mixed reactions. Again my own family were those who tried to make it perfectly clear that according to them, it was not ok to do anything with people of the sa e gender. For example when I was around the age of 6, a friend at school told me it was valentine's day and that meant you give cards and presents to your boyfriends or they give them to their girlfriends. I didn't have a boyfriend, so I decided to make a card and give it to the said friend who happened to be a girl and she in turn gave me a little chocolate bar. I went home and either my great aunty or one of her daughters who was in the room at the time asked if I had got any valentine's day cards (or something along that line), so I said I gave a card to my friend (insert name here) and she gave me a chocolate bar. Their immediate reaction was "You're supposed to give those to your boyfriends!". A few years later while I was still in primary school, I was playing a game with a female cousin who was 3 or 4 years younger than me, involving running up and down and kissing then repeating. Once again, the said great aunty told me off for kissing girls. Never again did I tell her anything about being interested in girls or having girlfriends until years later. Then she gave me a shpeel about being sorry I couldn't express that or anything about being polyamorous when I was younger, but didn't mention anything about the fact that it was she doing much of the judging. I've also had the religeous book of choice bashing both regarding sexuality and polyamory. Some of the more supportive people really don't mind and some of the not so supportive people have rather than giving their own opinion quoted bits of text at me. What they don't realize is that the books have all been edited to say what the few want them to say, in the hope the readers won't go reading further into things and looking for anything other than those few books and those few editions. As for being polyamorous, a lot of people don't seem to understand that it's all about conscent, so when telling them or asking their opinion they tend to say it sounds like cheating or that's what it is. Also a lot of monogamous people expect me to be monogamous just because they are. Like I tell them though, I pretended and tried to be monogamous for several years, but for me it failed rather spectacularly, mainly because I still love everyone regardless of how many relationships I'm in. When I've told family members (in response to them asking if I have a boyfriend) that I have 2 boyfriends for example, one accused me of "playing the field" and said you're not supposed to have 2 boyfriends and another accused me of being a flirt. If I try and talk to the second family member I just mentioned about any things I might not be happy about in relationships, her reaction is that I'll find a serious relationship some time. I tell her that if I wasn't intending it to be serious I wouldn't bother getting into any relationships because there would be no point, the only thing she says is that they're just casual or they don't have to be serious. One of the religeous people I mentioned earlier somehow also thought me and another person were trying to convince him that polygamy/polyamory is right. Um no! Having said all that, I have also had some possitive reactions. Mostly from friends who don't seem to mind either way. Then again some supposed friends were the religeous ones so I kicked them ages ago. The supportive ones though have stuck around. One friend recently came right out and asked how my romances are going? :) The last thing I can really think of writing about here is the decision of giving up a permanent place of existence in order to travel. I never stayed in 1 place longer than 3 or 4 years at the most as it is, as well as the feeling of relief when I would leave the house or apartment and go away from cellphones and wifi and other such micorwave and milliwave-emmitting things. I find it freer not having to pay rent and bills all the time as well as getting to meet new people and see new places. I'm always the one doing the running round and visiting everyone else, so it made sense. It only makes financial sense to me to stay in one place if the said place is already furnished or with appliances, or if I can buy the furniture or get it made cheaply and of good quality. However when I told people about travelling and not having a permanent place, they didn't get it apart from the very few people. Most seem to think it's useful to keep a place and travel. One person referred to it as my "stupidness" and again family members. They were among those who decided I needed to get on the council list and get somewhere permanently again. I travelled for 10 months sometimes staying for a couple of weeks or so and found for the most part I was freer and somewhat happier. I only got on the council list and rented somewhere for a few months in 2018 to get society off my back. I notice though that doing what society expects is not what aligns with my own views, beliefs, call it what you will. When I did rent a place for a few months, I felt nothing but trapped. Sure I was leasing some furniture and appliances, but they don't give lightly. I was only a week behind in rent when I got the stuff, but because of that they decided I was not having half the stuff I asked for. Most places in the UK don't come with any furniture or appliances unless stated and carpets and curtains are considered decoration. I felt so trapped there that I went away whenever I could, but because I was having to pay rent and bills that wasn't so often. And so we go round in circles. I was at college for a few months until February 2019, then thankfully went back to travelling. Once again though, I'm back on the council housing list for the Tyne And Wear area (in northeast England), only because I'm starting an art course in South Shields in September 2019 and need some place to stay. In a way I'm looking forward to starting the course because of course I like art and it's a long way of solving the issue of presenting certificates to prove I have qualifications, which is not my issue at all. In a way I'm not looking forward to it, because it means being yet again tied to one place with little freedom. I only hope I can find an energy supplier that doesn't insist on using smart meters, as they work by bluetooth. In terms of travelling, I have of course also met some interesting people along the way as I mentioned previously on this blog, and been to some great places.