"It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane." – Philip K. Dick
I got the idea for this article from a recent email I received from one of my university administrators. At first, I thought this was a very odd quote, but then I thought about it for a second. What is the true definition of sanity? We all have our preconceptions of what it means to be insane, such as people who talk to themselves, shout random and inappropriate things in public, or don't like raisins (sorry, it's an inside joke). According to the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of sanity is "the ability to think and behave in a normal and rational manner; sound mental health." The word normal really sticks out in this definition. Normal, the norm, the flow of society, regularity. Then, suddenly, this quote made sense to me. I've gone insane in many ways! Here's my insanity moment: I decided to become a vegan.
I adopted a vegan diet almost 13 months ago. If there's something I've learned in my time as a vegan, it's that people are innately curious about why I arrived at this life-changing decision. I also learned that many people think I'm either: a. weird for doing it, or b. brave for doing it. "Weird" is stating it nicely; I've been verbally attacked a few more times than expected because I believe that people, for some reason, feel that I'm offending them with the way I choose to eat. Option B is an interesting notion, and it fits right in with the quote. I chose to go against the norm and stand up for what I believed to be right. I decided that I was not OK with the norm. I was not OK with me being lethargic all of the time. I was not OK with the norm of taking baby animals from their mothers and using their dead carcasses for food. I was not OK with innocent lives being taken. I was not OK with keeping something caged up its whole life. I was not OK with an industry depleting our world of its resources for its own profit. And for those reasons, I went insane.
Choosing to go against the norm, in general, is not easy. Many people aren't OK with what might be considered a norm in society, but they choose to do nothing about it. For those of you out there wanting to change, as long as it harms no one else and is safe and within reason to do, go for it!
Do you want to eat healthy, but your friends and people at your school or work don't? Do you think it's wrong that so many people litter? Does your family watch a lot of TV, but you want to be more active? Is drinking the thing to do every night, but you really wish you could stay sober? Do you wish society would slow down for a second to take care of themselves and appreciate and enjoy life? Does no one in your apartment recycle, but you want to help save the Earth? Do you think it's wrong that kids in your class think it's nerdy to answer the teacher's questions in class? Do you wish that people would be nice and help one another instead of hurt and say mean things about them? Are you sick of people being buried in their phones instead of talking to one another? The list could go on and on!
I challenge you to swim against the stream. Yes, it's going to be tough, but who knows—people might join you eventually and give you some company and make the journey easier. A support system who can see your point of view helps a lot. Stay strong, and good luck!
