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I've been a vegetarian for about six months now. In middle/high school, I didn't eat any red meat. I ate meat again for the first few years of college, then went totally vegetarian (but not vegan). It was actually really easy for me to switch over, but then again, I was almost always too lazy to really cook throughout college anyway, so I was eating a lot of pasta and grain-based stuff to start with. It really depends on what you were eating before you switch over -- some people have absolutely no cravings and no problems, others find out that they just can't do it. It was really easy for me, but I know other people who found it a lot more interesting.
One word: VITAMINS. I tend to be really lackadaisical about taking mine, and that leads to being tired all the time. I also find it difficult, strangely enough, to make sure I'm eating enough veggies beyond salads -- I love fruit, but vegetables aren't my favorite thing, so I have to go out of my way every couple days to make sure I get in some broccoli.
I think veganism is a much, much bigger commitment than vegetarianism. Finding something vegetarian-friendly can be a little tricky at some restaurants, but most of them are pretty good. Being vegan basically entails a total lifestyle change that can be tougher to adjust to -- it's hard to go out to eat, it's hard to eat at friend's houses if they aren't vegan, you have to check the labels of almost everything you eat.
And valkyrie, you and I have had this conversation before, but I don't think that it's the label semi-vegetarian that's the problem -- people are just stupid. I know plenty of people who have no clue what the term "semi-vegetarian" means, but they ask me why I don't eat chicken or fish or shrimp. They keep telling me, "It's not like real meat!" Uhhh . . . it an animal that was alive, how is it not meat?
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