I've been a vegetarian for a year and a half, now. Actually, I've been a REAL vegetarian for about a year (as soon as I learned that marshmallows contained gelatin and instant ramen had chicken fat). It wasn't all that hard for me. I had always wanted to be a vegetarian, but I never had the guts to do it. When I finally announced to my family that I wanted to be a vegetarian, my mom blew up. It wasn't much of a problem for me to stop eating meat. It was a bigger problem for my mom, who's the cook of the family. Eating out is also sometimes hard.
Some advice I have for you is to try tofu (soy protein). It's actually quite good if you prepare it right. They tend to serve it a lot at oriental restaurnats. Some products that specialize in soy protein are Boca and Garden Burger. They're made to look and taste like meat, and they're pretty good substitutes.