Road tripping back from a family vacation, I decided to watch a new and seemingly popular  documentary on Netflix called “What The Health.” This documentary explores the health risks of eating meats, the benefits of adopting a vegan diet and how it has changed people’s lives for the better. From that day on, I decided to change my eating habits and dedicate my life to a completely vegan diet.

Finding new ways to eat foods that I love and making it into an enjoyable meal has been such a great experience for the last couple months. It has really taught me to look at things from a different perspective and to search for different solutions.  

Although adopting a vegan diet can be tedious, in that most packaged/prepared snacks and meals are non-vegan, benefits like lower risks of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes make up for it. As a result of making these changes, I feel so much more active, happier, and overall a weight has been lifted off my chest because I know that I’m not taking any lives to simply enjoy a meal.

Apps and websites like Pinterest and Instagram make it so much easier to find recipes and tips to make being vegan an unstressful and enjoyable experience. Pinterest even has a filter on their search bar that allows you to pick certain dietary restrictions and will only show you options within what you can/want to eat.

I also stay inspired by following vegan celebrities and accounts on Instagram and Twitter. Seeing other people take on the same challenges I face is comforting and reassuring because I know that I’m not the only one struggling to stay on the path. They also help me in sparking new recipe ideas and how to manipulate a certain recipe to where it would fit my diet. I found that surrounding myself with people who I can relate to and are good examples of persistence really strengthened my mindset and dedication to veganism.

But to be honest, veganism isn’t for everyone. You have to be thick-skinned and and full of determination to face the critiques and looks when you tell others of your dietary choice. It’s very easy to reject the idea of strictly limiting yourself to a plant-based diet and sticking to what you’re used to. Stepping out of your comfort zone is what veganism is all about.

Being a vegan is much more than “sounding cool”, following a trend, or finding a way to be a difficult and picky dinner guest. It simply means you are taking into consideration much more than your own pleasure and being culturally and environmentally aware. The satisfaction of knowing that you have saved lives and improved your own health along with it should make up for the “inconveniences” of being a vegan.