My vegan journey started when all vegan journeys start – at my birth. Growing up, I was raised on a standard American diet, although my family probably ate more tofu and vegetables than the average family. Overall though, I ate all the things a “typical” kid eats; chicken fingers, hamburgers, bacon at breakfast. I also drank TONS of milk- it was my favorite- and mac and cheese was my favorite food. I never understood veganism as a child, like many people in America today. I thought it was “extreme” and unnecessary and that one could consume milk and eggs without hurting animals. Contrastly though, I was also an avid animal lover.
When I go older, I started learning more about the environment. It started when one day an alum of my school by the name of Summer came to speak. I was in the 5th grade and I soaked up every word she said. It was probably 2012 or 2013 and she spoke about her college’s environmental efforts and single-use straws. After that day, she became my hero. She sparked in me a lifelong interest in the environment, but she also sparked something unexpected. I started thinking about the greater world around me and suddenly the idea of eating animals was weird to me. I remember the exact moment it happened, and after this moment I could never go back. I was standing in my kitchen eating a piece of chicken, and I realized that the meat I was eating was an animal. Now it sounds kinda strange, and yes, of course I knew before that meat came from animals, but in that moment I truly made the connection between animals, which I had always loved, and the food that I ate. So I spit out my chicken and never looked back – or so I wish.
I in fact did look back actually. I kept eating meat for a bit after that; I don’t really remember how long. My next step in the journey though happened one day when I was home sick from school. I ate what all kids eat of course when they’re sick: chicken noodle soup. That day though I asked my mom in a not serious way if I could be vegetarian. Needless to say I was pretty surprised when she said yes. What did I just sign up for!? But now, I thought, I was committed.
Vegetarian though soon became pescetarian when my mom insisted that I eat fish. Back then, I didn’t think my vegetarianism would be lifelong. I came from a family with a history of vegetarian phases, and I assumed this would be the same for me. However, I also knew the doubters in my 5th grade class that said I would break it in a couple days were wrong. I knew I could stick with it for at least a little while.
The transition to vegetarianism was much like my transition to veganism; it was difficult for a week and then it got easier. There were some moments where I forgot I couldn’t eat meat and would order something with meat by accident. Yet, once I got into the swing of things -and knew which things were for me to eat and which things weren’t- I was all good to go.
The Teen Vegan 