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and then worry about what to call yourself later.
You can jump right in as a strict vegetarian right away if you're willing to. My only caveat there is that, unless you're already comfortable with a low-fat diet, you might feel like you're depriving yourself. A vegan diet in general uses far less fat as a flavoring and far more spices, herbs, etc. than a standard diet.
You're not wrong about the caste system thing, but I think it's a lot less prevalent than you'd expect. There is a small minority of veg*ns who do judge--these are sometimes the folks who proselytize. My pet theory is that most of those folks are new to their decisions, maybe trying to define their choices in relation to others, and are more likely to be vocal about them. I think that that veg*ns who've been at it for a while are less likely to judge, and while we may be the majority, it's the vocal minority that reinforces the stereotype of the judgmental, humorless vegan.
You will probably find that terminology is one place where we can get a little sticky. There is probably not a vegetarian in the world who hasn't been offered fish because some people who eat fish call themselves vegetarian; there is probably not a vegan in the world who hasn't been given a leather gift because some people who call themselves vegan use leather. So, yeah, what we call ourselves can cause some trouble. (Terminology lecture section follows! Read at your own risk! Easy short distinctions: a vegetarian eats no flesh or flesh by-product like gelatin; a strict vegetarian eats no flesh or animal products like dairy or honey; a vegan uses no animal products, like leather & wool; and, veg*n is just a shortening of "vegans and/or vegetarians," not a category in and of itself.)
I think you'd do best to figure what you want and what makes you feel good. Don't worry about whether you'll be in the vegan and/or vegetarian (see how much faster veg*n is?) club--the "club" mentality is meaningless. If someone judges you based on what you do or don't eat, you don't want to be around them anyway. Take advantage of the little community here and ask questions. I don't think anyone here would dismiss your efforts to eat in healthy way.
Good luck to you!
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