When I was a kid I mindlessly ate everything given to me. Like many kids I was picky about certain foods, but I did not give much thought into what I was eating.
For my entire life I’ve felt a strong personal responsibility for all that is wrong in this cold, dark world. For example, when I was in elementary school I would yell at my dad to cut those (dumb) 6 pack plastic rings that come wrapped around canned beverages so that fish and wildlife would not get trapped in them. I made sure to crush every can and yogurt cup so no squirrel or fox or bird would harm themselves on it. In third grade, my friend and I wrote a “book” on the importance of trees and we handed it out to all of our classmates. I was generally conscious at a young age about my usage of plastic packaged items and very concerned about animals and the planet.
As I grew older this sense of personal responsibility was reflected in the foods that I picked. When I was a sophomore in high school I was basically failing my English class. It was during Covid lockdown and my teacher very kindly gave me an opportunity for raising my grade with an extra credit assignment. I had to read the local newspaper and write a rebuttal on any argumentative article that I found. The article I chose was about meatless Mondays which I had never heard of before. After reading the article I did some research on the environmental effects of the animal agriculture industry and what I learned disturbed me. I could not in good faith come up with any arguments that went against the article and so I argued in favor of it.
I didn’t turn into a vegetarian overnight after reading it although I did agree with the opinion of the author I was still 15 still living with my parents who cooked chicken or steak almost every single night for dinner and were not a fan of having to prepare separate meals for me. At this point I also did not really understand what food was made of, I didn’t even know ice cream was made of milk. Or even that cows had to be pregnant to produce milk, just like humans do.
But some months later in the summer right after I turned 16 I met a girl named Sophie who lived near my grandparents house. She was vegan and very passionate about animal rights. After listening to her I felt like veganism aligned with who I was as a core. It made me feel like a hypocrite, all of my life I felt such a strong connection to animals, but I ate them every day.
After I spoke with Sophie, I bawled to my mom and told her that I would rather starve and die than ever eat an animal again. Maybe some would say I was acting dramatic but she supported me because she saw I was serious.
Four years later and I am still vegan. I have learned a lot as I have grown and I can say with certainty that I will be vegan for the rest of my life. Living in the beef state of Nebraska it can be hard at times for sure, annoyingly people tend to assume wild things about me, but it is an integral part of who I am. Veganism is not about perfection or being holier-than-thou, but I truly believe the daily choices we make can make this world a kinder place for everyone.