Staff Writer Emily Fuller explains her satirical take on vegan shaming.

“Aren’t you vegan?,” one malicious classmate screams across the table, as I bite into a slice of non-vegan birthday cake.

“Fake vegan, haha!,” howls another meat-eating human, sitting in another chair.

“Just call yourself a vegetarian if you are going to eat that,” yells my so-called ‘friend’ next to me.

These words flood my mind like a raging river. I think to myself, why are meat-eaters so terrible? Why can my peers not accept me for who I am?

My name is Emily Fuller and I am a 15- year-old girl growing up in a meat-eater dominated society.

Why does being more compassionate than everyone else have to be so hard?

No one minds their own business. All anyone cares about is what I eat and how well stick to my vegan diet. 

In my seven months of being vegan, I know for a fact I have made a difference and saved the lives of many animals across the country.

Every day I live in constant fear of being outed for sneaking a bite of a brownie or eating a cookie without checking if it is vegan.

I find myself having to check my behind my shoulder before I watch “Tasty” videos that are not explicitly vegan and make disclaimers if I post non-vegan pictures on my food account.

Some days living in this society of oppression and maltreatment are just too much to bare.

I now understand how Ellen Degeneres when the media attacks her for buying leather. Ellen and I both have this high platform where millions of people idolize us and expect us to be perfect.

Not all vegans are perfect.

I am not perfect.

I just want to live my life without feeling scrutinized by my fans.

My 1,391 instagram followers and 13 regular column readers are constantly checking my every move, just waiting for me to make a mistake. This is utterly exhausting.