Hello Pixies!

Well, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kristina. I live in a hellishly barbaric town in Ohio. I'm 5' tall. Vegan. And a virgo... in case you were dieing to know. So let me fill you in on some backstory, so we can get to know one another... 

I have been vegetarian since 5th or 6th grade, and I went vegan about 4 or 5 years ago. So, I've been meat free for about 14 years now, (except for a 3month stint when I was forced to bring chicken back into my diet. More about that later.) I've never missed meat, or felt deprived. I do miss the convenience of it though. It's not easy to go to family get togethers and birthday parties and stick to the veggie tray. And to just get french fries at the local drive thru... but that's life. And I'm OK with it.

I remember when I decided to go vegetarian. You see, I never liked eating meat. I didn't like the texture. I didn't like how it tasted. And I really didn't understand why we were friends with some animals, and ate others. I thought they were all the same... (Dude, chickens can be friends too) So anyway... It was right around the time that Clueless came out. (the movie) So I was like in 4th or 5th grade... and I was watching an interview on MTV with Alicia Silverstone. And she mentioned that she was a vegetarian. And I was like, "what?! you can do that!?" So after a year or two of my annoying pestering, my mom finally gave in and let me stop eating meat. She actually thought it was a little comical, because she said that when I was little, I was one of those headstrong kids that when I made my mind up, that was it. If I didn't want to eat something, I didn't. My mom was telling me the other day, that she would make me sit at the table until I finished my food. And I was such a headstrong child, that I would sit there all night if need be, but I still wouldn't touch whatever gross meaty thing that was presented to me... ok rambling... 

So. I stopped eating animals in 6th grade or so. Fast forward a bit. I'm in college. Dudes, I was totally broke. And not just college, ART SCHOOL. So I was living off ramen noodles, pizza, french fries, and massive amounts of alcohol... yes I know... totally healthy. Well, I was having some health problems, (ya think!), and then I was involved in an accident and I injured my spine. Pretty bad. It took a long long time before I could walk, or function, anyway, so my doctor basically forced me to start eating chicken because my recovery time was nonexistent, and he thought more protein would help... Well, I could only stomach eating boneless breaded chicken tenders, slathered in bbq sauce to mask the fleshy taste... And guess what. I got worse. My weight kept fluctuating. I was super bitchy. And pain was at an all time high. So I was like, FUCK THIS! And I cut the chicken back out. Along with dairy and eggs. And here I am. 5 years later. I don't need painkillers to get me through my day. I can walk. I do yoga. I eat better, most of the time... ( I do love me some pizza and beer.) But most of all, I'm happy.