This past summer, I returned back to the states from 5 incredible months of being abroad in the U.K. After nearly half a year of being carefree and indulging myself in food and travel, it was time to return to reality where senior year of college awaited. Three dull months of summer quickly transitioned into fall, where I was immediately hit with a full-time internship, three part-time jobs, along with multiple clubs and activities to begin juggling. Not to mention maintaining my physical and mental health as well as an attempt at a social life. And what goes well with a full plate, piled high with responsibilities and wobbling with stress? A life-changing realization and sudden awareness of what was going into my body, of course!

Wait, why are you a vegan now? On what grounds? What does that mean? Can you eat tuna? Fish? Bread? Why are you doing this again? Oh well, it doesn’t have to last a while, you’ll miss bacon soon enough.

Here’s the deal, folks. Toward the end of this past summer, I reached a point in my life where I realized that my eyes were being glued shut by society, the food industry, and by myself. Our society shows us how easy it can be to create a disconnect between the food we're putting into our body and the innocent creature it once was. Although I was a victim of this disconnect for most of my life, I've felt the guilt creeping up on me more and more in recent years, and it's worn the disconnect thin. Finally, I decided it was time to take down the blinders and educate myself.

I took to the internet, of course, and let different sources like Youtube, Netflix, PETA, and Google envelop my open mind. Documentaries such as "Cowspiracy" and "Forks Over Knives" left my jaw on the floor and watching other people's stories on why they switched to a plant-based diet had my head spinning. Not only had I felt like I had been lied to, but everything in my brain suddenly just clicked.

There it is, the definition of a vegan: zero animal products. So why not just be a vegetarian? You're still saving some animals and taking a stand, aren't you? Not quite, here's why:

Learning that the dairy industry was doing just as much, if not more, damage than the meat industry was mind-blowing for me. So, for a few weeks toward the end of the summer, I did exactly what this video said to do: I became a vegetarian overnight with the full intent to make the switch to veganism the day I got back to school. For me, it was easy to set this goal, since I knew I would be solely in charge of food shopping for myself when I arrived back at college. This meant being able to vegan-ize everything in my kitchen cabinets to make things easier for myself rather than sharing a family fridge full of yogurt and deli meat. Setting this goal was a great step, but the educating was no here near finished: I had to continue learning as much as I could.

The creators of Cowspiracy made learning about this topic simple, providing viewers with hard facts. Through this documentary, we learn that animal agriculture is responsible for 51% of human-caused climate change, 30% of global water consumption, 91% of Amazon destruction, taking up 45% of the planet's land, and creating ocean dead zones and habitat destruction.

Did you know that it takes up to 2500 gallons of water to produce just 1 pound of meat, and only 25 gallons of water to grow 1 pound of wheat? With all of the droughts happening all over the planet, a vegan diet is preserving tons and tons of water. Vegans are also saving 1.8 tons of carbon dioxide because raising livestock (the meat and dairy industry) produces more greenhouse gases than the omissions of the entire transportation sector.

PETA's 35 Mind-Shattering Facts Linking Factory Farming to Climate Change

Another documentary found on Netflix called Forks Over Knives teaches viewers about the astonishing health benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet. America has fallen into the trap of the westernized diet, which has lead us to paying $120 billion a year because of health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and heart disease. Additionally, despite only 1-2% of cancers being genetically derived, 1500 people a day are dying from cancer, because of what we're putting into our bodies.

According to the documentary, because when we consume dietary cholesterol, only found in animal foods like meat, egg, and dairy products, it tends to stay in the blood stream. This plaque builds up in our blood vessels and is the major cause of coronary artery disease, which often leads to very costly surgeries. Throughout the film, there are numerous examples of people in poor health who switched over to an all plant-based diet, leading to incredible results and even reversing diseases like diabetes and cancer that they've been previously diagnosed with.

“Yeah, I would, but I love meat too much." "You need meat for protein, though!"

These are the typical responses I receive from people when I tell them I’m a vegan. My internal response is always somewhere along the lines of, ‘yeah, that pig you’re eating liked to breathe once, but he doesn’t have the choice now - you do’ or ‘lol but did you know you’re currently wasting over 2500 gallons of water right now and completely demolishing the Amazon?’ My external response, however, is always a polite chuckle, sometimes followed with, ‘yeah, it’s not for everyone,’ even though it should be. It's SO easy to get the protein that your body needs without meat or dairy, AND with all the options available for vegans these days, it's incredibly easy to fulfill any cravings you might have.

Because I chose to transition into veganism at probably the most inconvenient time of my life (a broke college student with a limited dining hall meal plan), I expected to be faced with one of the most significant challenges of my life. On the contrary, however, the transition, for me, has been incredibly natural. The most difficult part of going vegan for me thus far has been other people: the guilt of inconveniencing them and trying not to visibly show how disgusted I am by their dinner plate. Everything else has been incredible. I've received plenty of help from friends and peers online who have gone vegan, who've sent me tons of recipes and keyed me in on helpful supplements like B12 vitamins, nutritional yeast, and PB2 powder.

Exploring the vegan food world has been so exciting because it challenges you to get creative with your food. I'm constantly sitting down to eat at the dining hall with a bowl of steaming veggies and quinoa or a wheat bagel topped with hummus and colorful veggies, which puts me in the receiving end of some impressed/envious looks from my friends. My newfound addiction to Siracha and spices has made everything more tasty, and books like The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet by Alicia Silverstone have been giving me a plethora of inspiration for my meals. I've also been able to find several youtube videos that have helped me immensely, even with my explanation to others.

The answer to the question "why?" is such a simple one for me in this case. Opening my eyes to see what was really going on in the world made going vegan a no-brainer. It's saving animals, saving our planet, and helping my body, all at the same time. Morally, this is a decision that feels suitable for me, and I plan on sticking with it for the rest of my life. So to everyone thinking about going vegan: this is your sign to take the plunge. Educate yourself, let the facts fill your open mind, and let the Pinterest scrolling for some delicious vegan recipes begin!