Vegans: How Lifetime and LMN Help Me Cope

My best friend Emily and I are huge LMN and Lifetime channel fans. Like, seriously. We can solve (or commit) any crime, and household dispute, and pretty much predict the future. Rarely, we are stumped. Usually though, we are pros.

I love the shows that run on these networks. My boyfriend calls the channels the "men-bashing networks", or MBN for short. He's got a great imagination. I just tell him to watch his back. Joking, of course.

I am a senior in college, and probably the only senior still living on campus. It works out, because I only need my apartment for a few months before I graduate, and the campus housing is more flexible (but more expensive) than off campus housing. You win some, you lose some.

After finding my randomly-assigned roommates on the housing website, we started a facebook chat about microwaves, toasters, furniture, sunflowers, and roommate night. One roommate suggested steak and potatoes (she sounds awesome) and the other responded that she is a very picky vegan.

I chose to attend a non-agricultural school for several reasons, including location (45 minutes from my hometown and my beautiful 2 and a half year old niece), and the fact that I would have more exposure and more experience with people who think differently than myself. If you read my blog, you know that I like to see things from all sides, and I like to educate myself so that I'm not speaking without first researching.

Here's where Lifetime comes in. The show Wife Swap was on last night. The wives "swapped" are supposed to come from completely different lifestyles. The episode featured a family who had a small income, and hunted to supplement and keep their family healthy. They shopped at a meat market, and ate venison (deer) and even rabbit twice a day if possible. They wanted to be healthy, but couldn't go out and afford expensive meat. They understood the value of meat in their diets. The other family ate raw food and lived a vegan lifestyle. The wife was very passionate against hunting and believed that she could obtain an almost food-like substance from "sun-gazing". Needless to say, I was captivated.

While I realize these are the extremes in most cases, it did give an interesting perspective. Please stay tuned for experiences with a vegan roommate. I pride myself on never shoving what I believe in anyone's face, and I believe that we all deserve a choice in what we put into our bodies, or choose not to consume. (Even if it sounds completely crazy to not want a delicious burger or some awesome taco salad - see Taco salad post from last summer!)

I think this will be a great learning experience for both of us. As my good friend Ashley H says, there are three desired outcomes when dealing with animal-rights activists (or just mis-informed consumers in genereal): Win/Win (both parties feel great about the outcome/conversation, Compromise (both leave having learned a little something) or even just the old "agree to disagree".

Thanks for reading this, and thanks for all of your support...... and prayers. I'm sure I'll need them!

:)

God Bless,

The Beef Queen