When I first found out what vegan meant, I thought the concept of not eating milk, dairy, eggs or honey was very unusual. When I first tried a vegan cookie, I thought it was disgusting. I never thought I would become a vegan one day.

I have been a vegan for over a year now, and changing my lifestyle has been one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had. Not only has being vegan improved my health, but knowing I am saving animals lives gives my life extra meaning.

“Are you getting enough protein?” “What do you even eat?” “Wild animals eat animals, why can’t you?” “Do you mind if I eat meat in front of you?” These are some of the questions I get daily due to my lifestyle. People tend to judge vegans as soon as the topic of our lifestyle is brought up. Vegans do not conform to societal pressures; Meat and dairy are not musts in our lives.

If people did their research on a vegan diet and changing their lifestyle to veganism, they might realize that becoming a vegan is a good idea. Not to mention, the food we eat has a lot of nutritional benefits. Getting the the nutrition we need (carbohydrates, vitamin c, protein, potassium, magnesium, etc.) is no problem. Not to mention, becoming a vegan helps lower blood pressure, cholesterol, cardiovascular disease and many other things. People just need to eat the right foods to be healthy.  

Vegetarian and vegan options in restaurants are becoming more common than ever before. As long as people and places are accepting of this choice, we can all live in peace and accept others for who they choose to be. That is all that vegans and vegetarians are asking for, to be accepted. Even though you might eat a hamburger while I eat a veggie burger, we are still living on the same planet, surviving this chaos we call life together.