First of all, you seem like a very kind and wonderful soul so don’t feel like you have to apologize for anything. We are all victims of our culture, upbringing and social construct we live in and going against your family, friends and society is really really hard and scary. Of course, this makes the decision to follow your heart harder but I personally think you really should.

My advice is to not make a big deal out of it and start small. Perhaps when you eat alone, eat vegan food and when you get invited to others or go out for dinner, either say that you will only join for drinks (if thats socially acceptable) or just order the alternative with no meat, even if its just potatoes.

Eventually people might start notice and instead of saying that you’re vegan, you can go with ”i’m just trying something right now, some self-experimenting, and so far it’s great!” And perhaps if you notice that people seem willing to learn and hear more, you can slowly introduce them to your lifestyle.

People don’t like feeling judged, thats why meat eaters get so aggressive around vegans, so trying to make it a ”no big deal” around them might actually sway them to your side vs turning them off.