Hippie chick

There is a huge misconception about people who choose a (mostly) meat free lifestyle. One is that we are rabid PETA animal liberation army crazies. Another is that you are some sort of patchouli smelling, tie dye wearing hippie chick. Or that you lean more towards the alternative sides of life, like living in a yurt or something.
My meat free journey started when I began practicing yoga in high school. Part of the yogi philosophy I learned was the vegetarian lifestyle as doing no harm to others. When I got to college, I went full time vegetarian because the food in the dining hall was inedible.
I have been a bit of a hippie (man, those peasant skirts are comfy!) but that is really not my lifestyle choice. I am a type A personality, which means being laid back is a completely foreign concept to me.
Besides, I'm more punk than hippie.
This is why yoga is also important to me. I need that balance.
About 12 years ago, I had a really bad bout of bronchitis that lingered for a while. I could not shake it, so my doctor wound up pumping me full of steroids & antibiotics. It cured the bronchitis, but prednisone is hard on your body after a while. I was a bloated mess. My body hurt to move, and I was beginning to think the bronchitis was much better than the after effects.
Luckily, I had an open minded doctor at the time, who was willing to try different out of the ordinary things for me to feel better. He put me on an anti inflammatory diet: basically, vegan. Chiropractic. Yoga. Meditation. Biofeedback. All sorts of new agey things, but eventually it worked. I felt better. The swelling went away. I had energy again.
Unfortunately, as time went on, I didn't adhere to that lifestyle as much. My insurance changed & I no longer had coverage for chiropractic. The Big Man is a total carnivore, and quite frankly, being a short order cook stinks. I still practiced yoga, but it was a 3 legged stool and two of the legs were wobbly, if not gone.
Fast forward a few years. Given the choice, I do tend towards the meat free side. In the past 10 years, there has been an explosion of meat free products out there that means you dont have to miss the meat.
You can go to a BBQ & have something to eat & not look different.
You can have a deli sandwich.
You can have chicken parm.
My son's birth parents were vegan. They weren't very good at providing adequate nutrition (there's a lot of thought & planning vegans have to do to prevent rickets and other malnutrition) As a result, my guy had a lot of challenges to overcome in the eating department. However, he is proudly vegetarian & I'm ok with that.
I had been asked by a reporter about what misconceptions people have about being a vegetarian or vegan. The hippie thing is the biggest obstacle. I'm definitely not that. I like tailored clothes . I wear makeup. I wear Design by PS, Happy by clinique not sandalwood or patchouli oil. I still dress mostly in black, which is a lingering after effect of goth/ska fashion sense.And I only own one peasant skirt. I have a few Indian inspired shirts, but that's because I have a hernia & can't wear anything fitted right now.  I like designer clothes & all; my handbag of choice is Coach. The only time I wear a tie dye is if I'm in costume or participating in Relay for Life. I don't listen to a lot of jam band music, and I don't like Phish in large doses. Right now I'm on a Dresden Dolls kick, and the Clash are part of any playlist on my iPhone. I'm more punk rock than peacenik.  Yes, it's safe to say I'm shattering that hippie stereotype of being meat free.