u/Much-Radish-2564

I’m doing some assignments and familiarizing myself with my classes to start the year, but all of the introductory emails, some of the home pages, etc are littered with AI art. Some of the emails even have sections written by AI.

I used to love seeing the little drawings and human made graphics everyday, it made me less annoyed about time consuming/difficult work. The art they made didn’t even have to be good, it was cute no matter what. It feels kind of soulless now. Even Bitmoji was fine.

I’m also worried that some of the information on the AI content is incorrect and will mislead me, since they look like they are using them for informational graphics instead of just silly gimmicks.

Everything looked genuine and organic before this year. Is anyone else noticing AI more now? I’m in 8th grade, so hearing about what it is like for high school students would be interesting.

I’ve been speaking to my mom and my sister a lot about veganism lately, and it’s draining me.

They are completely convinced. They agree that there isn’t a way to ethically exploit animals. They have told me that they respect and admire me for staying true to my values and being a role model. That I’m a beautiful person. Like some kind of saint.

All of this, and they aren’t vegan. My sister said “some people are just different, and the mindset is hard”. What mindset??? The one about eating something else??? Trying new things??? Caring for other sentient creatures??? Holding yourself accountable???

I live in America, and the percentage of overweight/obese people is 74%. that number goes even higher when using things like fat distribution and waist to height ratio to define obesity alongside standard BMI. These people cannot even show up for themselves. People do not have enough self control to protect themselves from poor health. People make excuses for being overweight the same way people do about not being vegan.

Overweight people say it’s their genetics, their metabolism, anything but themselves. Time and time again, every reasonable piece of scientific literature points to poor diet and exercise being the most important variables when it comes to your weight. Calories in, calories out. Same story every time. Then when they are proven wrong and become honest with themselves, they admit that they just lack self control to a certain degree. I can’t be mad at them because they are only truly affecting themselves.

Non vegans say it’s expensive, it’s unhealthy, bad for the environment, they buy local, anything but the truth. Time and time again, every reasonable piece of scientific literature points to plant based diets being inexpensive, having the least environmental impact, being completely safe with proper planning, and animals being sentient and deserving of protection for that reason. My sister and my mom admit that they just aren’t as strong as me (their own words btw) and can’t change. I am mad at them because they are affecting more than themselves.

My sister is borderline addicted to Uber Eats and my mom is type 2 diabetic. Idk if it’s a coincidence.

They don’t even think the act of being vegan is hard, just “the mindset”(?). My mom speaks of cheese as if it has a siren song. my sister talks about going vegan being like climbing a mountain with a ball and chain attached to her ankle. There is no way I can respond without just calling them weak minded.

I thought these people were special. I thought they’d do what they know is right. But, they just can’t do it. If they can’t do it, who’s to say that anyone else can??

It’s so ironic because they are who I cry to when living in a non vegan world takes a toll on me. It’s hard to keep looking up to them. They aren’t who I thought they were.

Am I “obligated” to talk about veganism whenever possible? Obviously I dislike seeing my friends and family contribute to animals being abused, but I’m not confrontational enough to bring it up to them. They don’t even really understand what I’m doing this for, and it’s hard to bring it up without seeming a bit strange for just talking about something completely unrelated out of nowhere. I really care for the people in my life, I see them as innocent in the fact that they don’t really know the true consequences of their actions. Besides the fact that it’s just draining for me to constantly be on the defensive with counter arguments at the ready, I also sort of feel bad for being the one to tell them that what they’re doing isn’t good. In a way, by not telling them what they’re doing, I’m sort of just complicit in the behavior. It’s not like I’d be dealing with any repercussions besides just being a social outcast lol.

A part of being vegan is being willing to admit what’s making you uncomfortable and change your actions/lifestyle to match the truth you discover in that admission. Am I actually doing as much as I can right now? Is being less liked a worthy reason to not do it? Some outside opinions would give me a lot of clarity.