It's been almost three months since I started on this vegan journey, and I am still going strong and feeling even more empowered than ever! When I first started I felt a little bashful telling people that I was going vegan. For whatever reason I just assumed that people would roll their eyes and not take me seriously, and I didn't want to make a scene. Little by little I have come out of my vegan shell, and I now feel very confident telling people proudly that I am a vegan. Most of the time I am greeted with questions and concerns, but not with rolling eyes or negative judgments, and if I do get a negative reaction, I am not afraid to face it. Luckily and most importantly my friends and family have been nothing but supportive and encouraging, which has been so wonderful.
The one thing that I have been really surprised by is how little people actually know about what it means to be a vegan. Then it occurs to me that most people don't really think about where their food comes from, and most people don't see a connection between what they choose to eat and how that might contribute to the suffering of an animal or the destruction of the environment. The factory food industry has obviously done it's job keeping us blinded! This fact inspires me even more. Ignorance is NOT bliss! I still don't want to "yuck anyone's yum" but I am not as afraid to tell people (who ask) exactly why I am am a vegan...even if it might be a little uncomfortable to hear. Do I expect that my spiel will magically make people change their diets and life styles? Of course not!!! But I do hope that it will open their eyes to something they might have been ignorant about before, and maybe cause them to think about where they buy their food and what they buy the next time they are out grocery shopping.
I am very happy that I finally made the decision to be vegan, and that it has been this easy and fulfilling. Veganism is impacting my life in many ways, and hopefully rubbing off in little ways on the people around me. Eat your veggies!
Love,
Melissa
That's so cool, Melissa. You are an inspiration, hopefully to many people. I totally agree with you that the factory food industry is something that 1)keeps stuff to itself, so there's not a lot of information out there for the public, and 2)is an industry that the general public seems to be unaware of.
ReplyDeleteI am unabashadly amazed about many humans' total lack of being able (or wanting) to connect the meat they buy with the living creature it came from. This keeps me completely miffed.
Oh well. You are "out there" taking a brave stand and doing something, and I'm so happy for you that you're feeling confident about it. You're doing a lot of good in the world.