At the risk of being cliché, I’m going to tell you something. College, for many of you, is the first you have control over your life without control from family or other factors.

From who to hang out with, what to do, where to go, when to sleep and how to study, choices are now abound in your life—and consequently, so does the need for decisions.

One decision that you may have thought about (or maybe you haven’t—that’s okay, too) is what you’re going to eat. For years, your options of what to eat may have been decided by what’s in your pantry, or what fast-food place is down the street or what your parental units have prepared for dinner and set on the table.

Even looking around Bowling Green, it may seem as if you do not have that many options. There are only two dining halls, after all. Each dining hall, however, offers nearly endless options for what to eat, with several stations in each hall serving multiple different food options.

The Falcon’s Nest in the union and the Dial in Kreischer offer even more options as well, not to mention the myriad of Outtakes, the Dunkin’ Donuts (and Dunkin’ Donuts cart), the Starbucks and the many vending machines making their appearances around the campus.

As well as all of these places from which you can buy food, there are also kitchens in each residence hall, affording you the option to make your own meals.

All in all, you have a lot of choices.

One of the choices that is okay to make, is the choice to eat a diet that isn’t necessarily followed by the majority of people around you.

From veganism (not eating any animal products) to vegetarianism (not eating meat) to pescatarian (not eating meat except fish and seafood), and so many more, the options for how and what you will eat are nearly endless.

It took me three years to learn that I didn’t want to eat meat, and one of the biggest reasons why was because I didn’t believe it was okay to not eat meat. My parents and siblings frequently teased those who gave up meat, and all of my friends seemed to be fine eating meat—but it made me squirm to think about eating an animal, and it was bad for my overall health.

I don’t believe that eating any one type of diet is imperative to anyone’s health or wellbeing.

I do believe that we should all be asking ourselves if we are enjoying what we eat, and if what we are eating is keeping our bodies healthy as a whole. Not that you can’t or shouldn’t eat that sweet treat you love—I’m the first to say I eat pints of ice cream like nobody’s business.

But for me, eating meat was keeping me in a cycle of unhealthiness that I only realized after

doing research into a vegetarian diet. The cycle was broken, and my health improved, once I began to change my eating habits.

As you come into your college career, or even if you’re in the middle or very near the end, my hope for you is that you are aware of what you’re putting in your body, and that you ask yourself if it is making you happy and healthy. And if you don’t believe it is, then knowing it’s okay to make the decision to change the way you eat.

The beautiful thing about having options is that you get to choose the one that fits you.