In December of 2014, I went vegetarian. This was a huge shock to all my friends and family, as they all knew how much I loved meat. When I was a kid, I would tell my mom: "vegetables make my stomach hurt, so I should just eat steak all the time." My choice to switch to a vegetarian diet was very radical and had absolutely no foundation. Everyone thought that I would fail within a month. My vegetarian journey was by no means perfect. I had hiccups and failures along the way, like when I was unable to resist the temptations to join my family in holiday food festivities. I lacked the passion and motivation to continue pursuing the vegetarian lifestyle, so, after about six months, I returned to eating meat.

Yet, something felt wrong. Every bite of meat made me feel guilty and sick. The texture and the idea of sustaining myself at the cost of animal lives created an inner complex within me and, over time, I started to hate consuming animal products. Instead, I began to do more research into the vegan diet, watching documentaries like "Forks Over Knives," "Hungry for Change," "Cowspiracy," reading studies done about veganism, and keeping up with vegan cooking blogs (my favorite is the Minimalist Baker). I learned about all the potential benefits and drawbacks of veganism and what things need to be supplemented in a vegan diet. I learned about food combining, different kinds of vegan diets like High Carb Low Fat, Rawtill4, and Fully Raw, and became very conscious that there were many motivations behind eating a vegan diet. I realized that veganism is not only a way of eating, it is truly a way of living.

I began to incorporate vegan meals and snacks into my daily diet, slowly weaning myself off of foods that contained animal products. Yet, I was still scared to go fully vegan. It can be very difficult to eat vegan at social outings and the prospect of being an inconvenience to friends and family was very discouraging. Food is a huge part of socializing. There is an implicit emotional aspect to food that is terrifying to mess with. I was scared of being judged or berated and I was scared of missing fun times with loved ones. But, once the new school year started, I decided to swallow these fears and go vegan anyway.

I am still vegan five months later and I have no desire to return to eating an omnivorous diet. I felt very awkward eating with friends in the beginning, because I never mentioned that I was vegan. However, there eventually came a time when people started to ask me why I always avoided eating all animal products and byproducts. Thus, my friends here at Carnegie Mellon were the first to find out that I was vegan. I later told my family via e-mail. I've come to understand that those who did not support my decision to go vegan were usually concerned for my health. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that most people were supportive of my choice to be vegan. My friends crack jokes about veganism all the time and have nicknamed me "Vegan," which I've begun to respond to. Their light-heartedness can be a tad annoying sometimes, but I greatly appreciate how open-minded and accepting they are.

I don't have a lot of options to eat on or off campus and finding the time and money to get groceries and cook all of my meals is quite difficult. However, I choose to remain vegan because of all the benefits I've experienced. I feel fitter, leaner, and more productive. I keep myself busy with academics and extracurricular activities. I've also made it my personal mission to realize my mind and body's full potential.

The biggest change I've noticed is in my emotional state.

Going vegan has actually made me a more outwardly compassionate person and has allowed me to become more in-tune with my emotions. Frustratingly vague emotional states, also known as "feelings," are very easy for me to explain and display. I fear less and less as time goes by about what people think of me and I am actively working to show the people in my life that I care about them. I've become more introspective and I am learning that it's very important to have an understanding of who I am, who I want to be, and what impact I want to have on the world. This is a life-long process and by no means am I saying that I suddenly have an all-encompassing knowledge about myself, but veganism has given me the confidence and curiosity to explore what makes me "me" and to embrace myself. I also have a growing appreciation for time, life, and being alive, no matter how crappy and stressful life can get. I've been given this opportunity to form amazing connections with other living beings and to find what I'm passionate about. I feel that I don't have the right to take away these potential experiences from anyone or anything.

This is why I'm vegan.

There are the "politically correct" environmental and ethical reasons as well, but veganism has given me a newfound sense of empathy, gratitude, and passion that I never want to lose. Veganism has given me a new perspective on life. The changes I experience are making me want to live my life in a more meaningful and impactful way.

I understand that, for most people, going vegan isn't the best route to self-discovery, but I encourage anyone reading this to find something that they're just as passionate about. Find something that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning, that gets you through the most abhorrent times of life, and that puts a new lens on the way you live. I promise that the changes that you will undergo will be worth any of the trials that you encounter on the way.

Best of luck,

Izzy