It was around 3pm and I'd already spent most of the day experiencing and battling the surrealism of 2c-p, a lab-born drug that produces strong and vivid hallucinations. I'd finally escaped the Floridian heat and taken refuge in my house, only to find that the demonic apparitions hadn't stopped at the door. I dashed up the stairs, avoiding their gazes and swirling eyes to the best of my ability, and tossed the cords of every one of my metaphysical pendants around my neck. When I'd finally found peace, my final journey began, leading me to my aversion of the consumption of meat.
It started with the realization that I hadn't eaten all day. (I'd spent my lunch period at school in a haze, painting an eye and tongue on my table in art class that my classmates and I had turned into a majestic bird, spanning over two tables.) With the objective of food in mind, I made my way to the kitchen and prepared a bowl of beef stew. I stared into it, a muddy mixture of soft carrots and brown flesh cubes, and couldn't seem to bring myself any farther. I dumped it into the sink with contempt, comparing my own flesh to that of the cow's. It occurred to me that there is something fundamentally evil about slaughtering millions of animals by machines, slicing their bodies into bits, packaging the pieces into cans and plastic, and then selling the final products to our fellow citizens to eat and feed to their children.
After washing my bowl and spoon, I peered to the right at a basket of fruit. Sunlight reflected off the dewy skin of a red apple, so I chose accordingly. As I gazed at my reflection on the apple, the counters, walls, and tile surrounding me became an intertwined mess of bright green foliage, and a sprout slowly rose from the ground, growing taller, extending branches, and producing the apple right before my eyes. It was then that I understood that Earth provides naturally all of the resources we need. I plucked the apple from the vine and sunk my teeth into it, piercing its waxy covering and gathering a large chunk of sweet hypanthium into my mouth, feeling as though I were the first man to discover food.
With a new perspective on food and nature, I nestled onto the loveseat and lost myself in thought. Bandit the chihuahua become a ball of fur next to me, and vibing off each other, we looked out over a horizon of golden sand dunes, watchful observers, students of our planet Earth. Since then, I've attempted to let go of meat and failed due to my lack of support. However, I've attempted again and am finding it much easier to accomplish with the support of my mother and a better understanding of which foods are rich in which nutrients. I'm slowly releasing my ties to animal products bit by bit, the ultimate goal being raw veganism.