Hey there, fabulous readers!
Today, I stumbled across a nail-biting, gut-wrenching, and delightfully cheesy dilemma on everyone’s favorite playground for drama: Reddit. And, oh boy, do I have some sassy tea to spill about the perils of pepperonis, school cafeterias, and family politics!
(Caution: If you’re vegan, lactose intolerant, or a hardcore pizza purist, clench your pearls and brace yourselves. Roger here, and I am diving deep!)
The Tale of Cheese and Vegan Fury
Our protagonist, let’s call him Vegan Rebel (VR for short), finds himself in the bustling halls of a new school in a fresh city. His family’s vegan activism is no secret—his dad? Let’s just say if PETA had a superhero league, Mr. Dad Vegan would be their caped crusader.
VR’s entire life has been vegan-infused since day one. Think of childhood birthday cakes being nothing more than a wistful dream and school canteen tales of non-vegan delicacies more forbidden than Voldemort’s name in the wizarding world. It’s tough out there for a vegan kid navigating a world of pepperoni pizza temptations.
The Cheese Stands Alone (But Not for Long)
So VR made a daring decision—a rebel with a cause, or cake, depending on how you see it. In his new school, VR decided to dip his toe in the creamy waters of non-vegan food. What better way to start than cheese pizza?
Let that mozzarella melt your heart, baby! VR thought he could keep this little cheesy affair undercover from his family. After all, when at home or near the parents, he kept the vegan code. But when out and about? A totally different story.
VR figured out his new school schedule like an undercover spy in the Cold War. His brother, however, wasn’t privy to this espionage. Ironically, on that fateful Friday, hungry lunch schedules overlapped, and KABLAM! Brother Vegan stumbled upon VR in mid cheese pizza ecstasy. The betrayal! The horror! The… cheese pull!
The Fallout of a Thousand Cheese Strings
VR’s brother was aghast, gobsmacked, and other suitably intense adjectives. Wasting no time, he tattled like an Olympic medalist in snitching. VR’s parents, particularly Mr. Dad Vegan—who could probably detect dairy at fifty paces—were livid. Picture an angry cow mooing irately in a tofu meadow.
Grounded, lectured, and threatened with a discriminatory complaint against the school (how’s that for putting the ‘extra’ in ‘extracurricular activities’?), VR was in deep. With one foot in the cheesy camp and the other desperately clinging to his roots, he was left conflicted.
Was he selfish for breaking the vegan code? VR asked Reddit, genuinely conflicted if his parents’ wrath was justified or a hyperbolic overreaction even Shakespeare would envy.
The Verdict and Roger’s Oh-So-Sassy Opinion
Drumroll, please! Leave the pans clattering.
So, dear VR, are you the a**hole? Let Roger break this down for you with more sass than a reality TV reunion special.
Look, family values and diets are all well and good, and kudos to Papa Vegan for sticking to his guns, or should I say, greens. But here’s the bare nut: VR, you’re a growing teen, navigating the social minefield of high school. The weight of family expectations can feel heavier than a quadruple cheese pizza (with extra pepperoni).
You handled this rebellion with the stealth of a cat burglar, but it’s not fair to lay all the blame on your plate. It’s crucial for your parents to understand that while they’re winning the vegan war, they might be losing the battle of relatability and personal growth. Yes, it’s essential to stand for what you believe in, but also recognizing a teen’s need to fit in and explore is equally important.
So, no, VR, you’re not the a**hole. You dipped a toe outside your comfort zone, and that takes courage. Maybe it’s time for a heart-to-heart family convocation, a vegan pizza summit if you will. Bring all cards to the table—no dairy required, but definitely some mutual understanding and compromise.
And one last zinger from Roger: Who needs guilt when you can have both respect for family choices and a pepperoni dream? Finding that balance might just be the recipe for happiness, kiddo.
Original story
Edit: I am a guy
Hi people,
My entire family are vegans, my dad especially is a very “vocal” vegan. He goes to vegan protests, was in vegan groups in our old city, he’s a vegan activist.
Which I love, I’m not trying to paint those things as bad I really respect him for his thoughts.
My brother and I have both been raised vegan our entire lives. At school it’s always made me feel “othered” is the best way to explain it.
Never able to eat anything sold in the school canteen, at friend’s birthdays never able to eat a piece of cake with my friends, or have to be the one who says “we can’t go to that restaurant they don’t serve any vegan food”. Always having to explain why I’m not allowed to “try a bite” of their sandwich.
They aren’t huge things but they are things that make me stick out. Since I’m an awkward guy anyway, it just doesn’t help me socially.
So when we moved cities and I joined a new school last Monday I decided that I’m not going to follow the vegan diet while I’m at school. I kept this to myself because I know my parents wouldn’t support it and would be angry.
When at home, or with my parents I will follow the vegan diet but if I’m out with my friends or at school I’m not going to say, in my mind this was respectful of my parents wishes. No meat in the house or around them but my myself is different.
My brother and I both go to this new school. Since we don’t share a dinner time I didn’t tell him that I wasn’t going to follow the vegan diet, I didn’t think he would support it and I thought he would tell dad.
Things have been going alright but I didn’t know that on Fridays my brother’s dinner time would be at the same time as mine. I was sitting with some new friend and I was eating a cheese pizza (this is the only non-vegan food I’ve eaten so far. I want to try pepperoni but still feel a little scared) and my brother caught me and asked what I was doing eating pizza.
I tried to play it off but I knew I was screwed, my brother told my parents and now everyone is really upset at me. I’ve been grounded and my dad said he’s going to call my new school and tell them that if they sell me non-vegan food he will put in a discrimination complaint.
Which is just going to make me seem like a weirdo now.
I tried to explain to him that I was trying to be respectful by not doing it here, but my parents just gave me a huge lecture about how I’m so selfish for breaking the diet. He said he can’t trust me anymore and now I feel guilty in one half of my brain and in another I’m telling myself it isn’t that big of a deal and they’re overreacting.
But I don’t know if I’m just being blind.
Please, no debates about the ethics of the vegan diet. I don’t care to debate it with anyone I’m sure there are subreddits where people will be happy to.
Please focus on my situation when giving your verdict.