My entire life I ate meat, honestly steak was my favorite food. I ate meat every day and didn’t think twice about it but, when you’re raised in the south, meat is everywhere. It wasn’t until I was educated on how the industries worked—how it actually worked, not what the commercials lead you to believe—that I immediately took over a full vegan lifestyle.

I have always been obsessed with animals, but as a kid you’re never actually taught where your food is coming from. You don’t think about the eggs you’re eating for breakfast and what the hen had to go through for you to get them, you don’t consider that the chicken nuggets that you always eat for lunch was once an actual living animal, you have no idea where that cheeseburger you’re eating for dinner came from. As children, we just simply weren’t educated about the facts of where our food comes from. I can say with 100 percent certainty: if I knew then what I know now, I would have been vegan a long time ago.

Imagine if you were out at the park and you saw a man hitting, beating, and mistreating a dog. I know so many of you would freak out, scream, call the police etc. Now imagine that it’s a pig, or a cow, or maybe he was going to eat it afterwards. Does that make it OK? We know, deep down in our hearts, that none of this is OK. When you gain a better understanding of how the industry works and that you have been conditioned by society making you think that this is something that you need. There is so much propaganda around the industry. They are making so much money by making you think that you need to eat meat when, in fact, you actually don’t.

I have it broken down into four main reasons why vegans decided to take over this lifestyle. These four truths are what keep vegans on their path

• This is probably the biggest one: You all of a sudden realize that these poor animals go through seven circles of Hell during their time in the factory farm. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “I only buy free range…” sadly 98 percent of meat that you see in the market is from factory farms. Now, not only are the animals robbed of their rights, but are literally tortured. I won’t go into all of the gory details but, if you’re truly interested, there are many undercover documentaries that show all of the horrors that go along with it.
• You do not need meat to be healthy! There are many ways to get your fill of protein.
• Animal agriculture is the leading cause of greenhouse gases that are causing global warming, and is also the cause of rainforest destruction.
• If we all stopped eating meat, we could make a change to stop world hunger. The amount of grain that are fed to the animals is astronomical.

Tips and Tricks for living the vegan lifestyle:

• When trying to explain to someone why you're vegan, try not to get too overwhelmed or frustrated. They might not know all the facts or just simply don't care and that's OK! Just know that some people will call it preaching, while I would rather see it as raising awareness.
• One tip I will say is to not try and go 100 percent overnight. Take it slow, find replacements and find recipes that inspire you. Maybe just start off with cutting out fish, then meat & eggs, then dairy.
• Even if you chose not to go full vegan, you can cut our just eating red meat, or being vegan twice a week, stop wearing leather. Some effort is always better than no effort. Doing some good is starting the chain of making a difference.
• Find food inspiration! When you see people making delicious foods, that will make you want to make it, too! Once you finally see how easy the transition can, it will be a piece of cake! My favorite food inspiration is hands down, hotforfood blog; let me tell you they are vegan gods! Check out their blog and YouTube channel where they post the most amazingly delicious recipes. http://www.hotforfoodblog.com
  • Also Lauren Toyota is a beast and I want to be just like her, she inspires me to make change and appreciate myself and my journey *fangirling session over* https://www.youtube.com/user/toyotalauren
• These animals have a desire to live just like we do; they want to be free from pain and suffering just like we do. Of course, there are times when being vegan is a struggle, but when you compare your desire to eat chicken nuggets, think of that chickens desire to live. I sometimes wish that I were still blind to what really goes on behind closed doors and eat whatever I want. Despite how hard it can be, I have no desire to go back to my carnivorous life.

Being Vegan isn't only for people who love animals, never bathe and wear burlap (stereotypes btw...) There are a ton of huge celebrities that have taken the plunge and gone full vegan

Carrie Underwood

Ellen DeGeneres

Russell Brand (BAE)

Jared Leto (ALSO BAE)

Oliva Wilde

Now, believe it or not I didn't write this article to attack people who eat meat, or try to make you feel bad. All I want to do is share all of the things that I have come to learn during my journey to a vegan lifestyle. I'm not expecting to reach everyone in the world with just one article, but if I can just get some people thinking—that's all I can ask for.