Having laid down the foundation of the blog, I’d like to start off with my journey as a vegetarian. Of course I wasn’t a vegetarian all my life. Before I became a vegetarian I ate beef, seafood and other forms of meat like everyone else. Abstaining from eating beef every now and then wasn’t one of my problems of course because I hated it. I suppose that goes all the way back to my childhood times when I ate the beef that came with the breakfast box. It wasn’t long before I moved on to only eating seafood. For a novice at being a vegetarian it was a start. Eating beef was viewed to be more inhumane than eating seafood in some of Chinese cultures since cows tilled the land, fertilized the soil, and indirectly reap food for us. It would be cruel to repay them for their hard work by eating them
Early in life when I was in about my second grade I made an attempt to become a vegetarian, but to be truthful being vegetarian isn’t easy. Around the same time my arm broke and my bone was torn apart. Living in America they told me it would be impossible to fix it without putting a metal clip which had to be removed every year or so. My parents were furious about the whole idea of having surgery n my arm periodically to change the clip, so they looked for an alternative. A close friend of theirs recommended that we see a renowned doctor in China. I don’t remember the name and location, but a part of the trip stuck with me forever.
I saw the doctor hammer a guy’s hand back into place. While he was riding a motorcycle he fell so he had to get it hammered back into place. The whole process took about twenty minutes. Awaiting for my turn I wanted to cry and burst into tears because I can only imagine how much it would hurt. My turn finally came and I walked in quietly. The doctor asked me “What is this” referring to my cast. He looked at it as foolish and unnecessary. It took them about ten minutes to saw it off using many different knives they got. Then they took an X-Ray of it and I remembered they used water to illuminate the X-Ray photo. Afterwards I was put into a bed and I laid down, unaware of what they were doing I laid down. They put the first shot on my neck I squealed and a drop of tear came out. Then they inserted about eight more on each side. The two doctors on my left hand stood there and within minutes they took my arm and pulled it towards opposite ends. I could hear the “krck” sound of it breaking. I wanted to kick the doctor or hit them with my other arm which wasn’t broken, but unknowingly I was paralyzed with the eighteen shots. Everyone within the hospital had heard me as I screamed. The process was finally over and the doctor told me you’ll be better within two weeks. I didn’t know what to feel happy or mad. They gave me a cast which was in the form of four wooden blocks tied together by strings. I was told I had to move my arm periodically if not it wouldn’t function properly afterwards. Everyone in the hospital asked me if the screaming came from me since I was the new comer.
Skipping ahead of the hospital I was convinced by my uncle that eating me will assist in the healing process. It was reasonable so I bought into it. It was also probably because I haven’t quite satisfied my cravings for meat as a vegetarian. From that point on I started eating meat again.
About two years later, I was influenced once again to become a vegetarian. I remembered eating a crispy chicken. It started off as a competition against my brother to see who could become a vegetarian longer. All in all through my struggle and different occurrences I stayed a vegetarian to this very day. External factors often affect the way you view things, but if you feel that there’s challenges keep in mind that it happens in life. Even though you might get sidetracked, just be persistent because it can take you a long way. It sure did for me.