The lobsters were staring at me...

...otherwise know as why I became a vegetarian. When I was 10 years old my brother and I went to spend a week with my aunt and uncle. My uncle decided to try and teach us how to fish. While on the boat my uncle thought it would be interesting to tell two little kids what hot dogs are made of. I was grossed out but that's typical for me. At the end of the week my parents picked us up and we continued on to Maine for a week. You can't go to Maine without going to a lobster restaurant. We picked one that had a giant tank out front so the customers could pick out a very fresh lobster. I never liked fish so I just ordered a hamburger. When they served us our food they brought us three bright red full lobsters and my hamburger. I sat there getting grossed out again with the lobster eyes staring back at me. I couldn't eat my hamburger. From that point forward I couldn't stop picturing the animals that my food came from. I slowly started weening meat from my diet. I am what they call a lacto-ovo vegetarian, meaning I eat eggs and dairy products but nothing with a face. Except for my tap and gymnastics shoes I don't have any leather products in my possession. I don't care if you eat meat in front of me but please don't tease me about it. I don't lecture anyone on the benefits of a vegetarian diet so don't lecture me about missing meat from my diet.

Life begins at 30

When I was in high school I joined every group and wanted to try everything. When I started college I wanted to save the environment, so I became an environmental biology major. After two years I realized I wasn't cut out to be a scientist, so I switched to business because I thought that would give me versatility. After 2 years of that I was bored silly. So I just decided to get a Bachelor's of General Studies, because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life but I needed to get out of school. After doing the college program at Disney World, I discovered COD had classes in TV/Film. I really enjoyed these classes and decided I wanted to make movies. There were a bunch of detours over the last 20 years but I still want to make movies. I haven't given up on that but I know I have to pay the bills and eat. After watching "Julie and Julia" for the 30th time, I realized you really don't have to have your future figured out at the age of 20. I know most of the people I know are following the dreams they made at a young age but it took me and Julia awhile to figure things out. Julia Child was born in 1912. She got a degree in English in 1934. She joined the OSS during the war because she was too tall to join the WACs or WAVEs. While serving in the war she was rumored to be a spy. In 1946 she married Paul Child. They moved to France in 1948. While in France she finally discovered her true calling. She began taking cooking classes at the Cordon Bleu. In 1951 she began teaching cooking. Ten years later her cookbook was finally published. After making an appearance on a book review show, she discovered she was destined to be a television chef. In 1963 "The French Chef" premiered. Throughout her life she didn't let all the rejections stop her from following her dreams. If Julia Child could find her calling in her mid-30s I know I can't give up yet. I am going to find more of these inspirational late bloomers to write about.