Graduating

This isn't explicitly about travel, but whatever.

In, like, a week and a half, I'm going up to my uni for Senior Week. It's the week immediately following finals, culminating in the graduation ceremony on Sunday. It's a week of parties planned by some senior class committee, where you buy a $35 wrist band and you get free drinks (and snacks like crackers and stuff) at all of the events. And, since everyone is finally done with all of their work (or, they should be), there are a lot of non-organized parties as well. Food-wise, I'm not too worried. If I eat in the dining halls, they always have some vegan options (some times, lots of vegan options). More likely, I'll be cooking meals with people and living off the leftovers. It probably won't be my healthiest week, as most of my calories will be consumed in the liquid form, but I will be fine.

My family is coming up on the final Friday, 2 days before I graduate. My mum wants to have a graduation party for me on campus, since I'm leaving for Australia the day after I graduate. Okay, that's nice of her, and the party is more for my family than me, so I am not going to argue. A few weeks ago she asked me what kind of food I wanted. We tossed around a few ideas. There was the obvious--veggies, bread, a few types of salad. And I was trying to think of something vegan that would be easy to make in large quantities, and would please a lot of people. I suggested having a bunch of pasta with different kinds of sauces on the side, like pesto, marinara, puttanesca, and whatever else we could think of. My mom put hot dogs and hamburgers on the list, and I didn't say anything, wanting to keep the peace.

A few days later I realized that chili would be an easy crowd-pleaser. We settled on the Black Bean Chili with Cilantro Pesto from Vegan Planet, which I've made before for some school event, and everyone loved it. And, we could make it ahead of time and throw it in the freezer. Then, when Mum and Dad make the three-hour drive up to school, they can bring it up frozen. By the time they get to school, it might be starting to melt a little, but it will still be very cold, at the least. More likely, it will still be mostly frozen, and we can stick in a fridge on campus. (There we go, that's how it ties in to travel. Freeze things before car trips and they stay cold for a long time, especially if you pack them into a cooler.)

Well. Mum mentioned that she was planning on making a "meat sauce" so people can murder-ize the vegan chili if they want, "or they can put it on their hotdogs or whatever if they want." Aside from the disgusting hot dog thing, I think having an optional meaty add-in is insulting. The chili is good! It doesn't need meat! It's perfectly healthy, and filling, and tasty. The night she mentioned that, I guess I was feeling a bit more fiesty, because I said "I don't understand why people can't go one meal without meat." Because hey, it's my graduation. And it's just one meal. My mum didn't say anything, and I don't really know what the plan is now. I just feel like a total shit the more I think about it. I should have said something the first time it came up, instead of waiting. Now, I'm tempted to concede on the hotdogs and hamburgers (ew, but the smell of them cooking is going to be so gross), but not the meat sauce. It completely undermines the vegan-ness (veganity?) of the chili, and I don't want it there. But, another part of me just wants to say no meat whatsoever. Because I'm the star of the show, at least for that one night.

This is a really weird situation, because I never, ever argue with my parents. I don't want to start something big, and the fact that my mum didn't even say anything in response to my little challenge makes me feel really bad. Bah! This is the first semi-negative experience I've had with my parents regarding my veganism, and I don't know what to do!