This summer I challenged myself to try something new. I became a vegan. My reasons that I started weren’t the common ones that you hear such as, “It’s good for the environment” or “It’s healthy” or “I don’t like the thought of animals suffering for my benefit”. My one reason for changing my diet was simply that I wanted to see if I could do it. I started the day I got home from school my freshman year. I told my mom that I wanted to try to become a vegan and she looked a little shocked. My mom is a vegetarian and I had been a vegetarian since 10th grade. I knew it was going to be a big change and it was going to take some careful planning and diligence but I was excited.

When people would ask me about being a vegan many had no idea what it meant or were unsure about the difference between vegetarianism and veganism. Basically vegetarians don’t eat meat and vegans don’t eat any animal products including meat, dairy, eggs, gelatin etc. Some vegans who truly embrace the lifestyle to the fullest extent go as far as cutting out all processed sugar/food and only eating whole foods, not wearing leather or fur, not using products or brands that test on animals, not attending/supporting animal races and betting. I haven’t changed my lifestyle to that extent yet but I do believe that at some point in my life I will.

Another big question that I get about being a vegan is whether I like it and what benefits I have experienced from the change. This is my favorite question to answer because I am so happy with how changing my diet slightly has given me so many positive benefits. The biggest one I have noticed is that I simply feel better all the time. I don’t feel tired and lethargic after I eat and I enjoy the food I am eating because I know that no animals were harmed in order for me to be able to eat. I have been able to try a plethora of new foods that I absolutely love.

Another major benefit that I wasn’t expecting to happen was that I feel like I am less of a burden on the world. I can think back to many times where I was really struggling with my place in life and how I felt that I wasn’t worthy of opportunities or positive things that would happen to me. I would feel that simply my existence in the world was a burden to others and only contributed to issues such as overpopulation, the food crisis, pollution etc.

Although I still have my doubts as to whether I have a positive impact on the world, at least I can have some peace in knowing that I don’t have to feel guilty about my food, as the food I eat has a much less negative impact on the world than the food I used to eat.