No Longer Vegetarian

It happened. Perhaps it was inevitable.

I can no longer claim the label of "Vegan" nor "Vegetarian".

Does this mean I have to take the label of "Omnivore" or "Carnivore" now?

I am so tired of wearing a "label". I simply want to be "Mark".

Here is my problem: I am an extremist.

When I take on a label, I do my absolute best to be everything that label implies. I have tried it with Christianity, I have tried it with Atheism and I have tried it with Veganism/Vegetarianism.

I failed at it every time.

I agree with some points of Christianity, I agree with some points of Atheism, I completely agree with the ethics of Veganism, but I simply cannot live an extreme ideology for any great length of time.

It is true that Christianity has many different viewpoints amongst its varied denominations, but let me break it down into two groups: those that believe the Bible is literal, and those that believe it is metaphorical. The churches I was a part of fell into the "literal" group.

So, with the belief that the Bible was literal, I would attempt to live my life as the Bible states I should, but it is impossible to live that way - especially in modern society. Thus, I would end up beating myself up over never being "good enough".

When I look at the Bible as metaphorical, my extremist attitude takes the view that there is no "guideline" to follow. Everything is open to personal interpretation, so there is nothing to "latch onto" and identify with, so the point of calling myself a "Christian" is moot.

Atheism is another extreme and I felt I could not live that way for long either. I simply felt angry all the time and if I was not angry then I did not feel I was being a good Atheist.

Please do not think that I feel that all Atheists should be angry. It is simply that I did not personally feel I could take the label of "Atheist" without being argumentative and angry against religion all the time.

The same with being Vegan. Unless I was constantly promoting PETA's agenda, I felt like I was not being a good Vegan. When I decided to simply be Vegetarian, I realized I was in the same personal dilemma as being a metaphorical-believing Christian.

What is the point in taking on a label if I cannot live it 100%?

I am tired of labels. It really is time to just be Mark.