I HAVE BEEN VEGAN FOR ONE YEAR!

 Today is a very special day for me.. makes one year I

have went VEGAN. I remember this time of my life well a year ago.

I had been vegetarian for a while, which was great. A month had

went by and I wanted to be vegan. I needed to be vegan. I had

realized that while vegetarianism was great and saving lives each

day, it wasn't enough. It wasn't close at all. I had to give it

all up. I had to stop participating in products used in animal

testing, clothing made of animal flesh, and wanted no part of the

entertainment industry, but would I be accepted? Even though on

one hand, my new lifestyle wouldn't really affect anyone else, I

knew it wouldn't be completely welcomed to some.
 I was right - I heard so much bullshit when I had to tell

the people in my life. I remember someone laughing telling me

there was no way I could do it. I could never give up cheese. I

was asked if I realized that going vegan really didn't make any

difference in the world. I was told that it was very unhealthy!

(LOL, yeah not putting animal flesh and insides in my body,

antibiotics, hormones, etc is healthy.. riiiight). I was told

that I was going to the extremes and there was no way that would

be accomplished. Talk about the support!
 It's one year later and look at me now! I have made so

many differences in the world. I have influenced people around

me to make differences in their diets and living, which is

amazing. Just a few weeks ago I got a text from a friend saying

that he was shopping at a retail establishment and the smell of

the dead flesh in the leather department was making him sick,

knowing what it was. I think that is great. If nothing else is

accomplished, I just appreciate the fact that I may have made you

think for a minute.
 It can be challenging and sad living in a non-vegan

world. On one hand, it is very rewarding knowing you aren't

participating in the demise and abuse of animals, but on the

other hand, you can only save so many and people make it hard for

you. I hate nothing more than a challenge. Why do people want to

challenge me or persuade me? Like your ignorant self would change

me vegan living!! I can only put up with so much sometimes. I

don't care if you can't live without your meat. And, yes you can

by the way. I don't care if you think me not going to the zoo is

stupid. Why would I compromise myself to go pay and see animal

cruelty at it's best? I wish people would respect me and try not

to change my mind or make me participate. I also hate jokes. How

disrespectful to not only be but all of the helpless animals out

there with no voice to stand up for themselves.
 When I realized how animals were used for "our benefit,"

I see it is an absurd way to use the weak and butcher it. It is

like rapists and bullies. I realize I have the power to do and

say what I want. I have clear skin, I breathe better, I'm

healthy, happy, lost weight, and all the while saving and

respecting lives. This is the best decision I have ever made in

my entire life and there is no going back, ever.
 I would appreciate it if you would take a moment of your

time and read this out loud or to yourself and really mean it.

Whether you are the biggest non-vegan out there, surely you

wouldn't oppose to this prayer.. it would mean to much to me and

all the unfortunate souls out there.

Hear our humble prayer, O God,
for our friends the animals,
especially for animals who are suffering;
for animals that are overworked,
underfed and cruelly treated;
for all wistful creatures in captivity
that beat their wings against bars;
for any that are hunted or lost or deserted
or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put death.
We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them
we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals,
and so to share the blessings of the merciful.
Author – Albert Schweitzer

I have attached some photos that I have previously posted on my blog that can be found there. Pictures say it all, so when you want to know why I am vegan, take a look!!!!

      

    I don't think I have ever posted this video on here either.. I was part of the "Faces of Vegan" project.. watch this video and look at all of the beautiful vegans.. I am at frame 2:03 with Joonie Bird.

FACES OF VEGAN PROJECT, FEATURING ME!

    Lastly, here are a few quotes that hit home to me. Thank you for reading, until next time, happy vegan living!! :)

• I eat everything that nature voluntarily gives: fruits, vegetables, and the products of plants. But I ask you to spare me what animals are forced to surrender: meat, milk, and cheese.
• The best part of being a vegan is the purity and peace of mind one experiences and the strong connection I feel to the animal kingdom.
• Even if you just change one dinner a week to vegan, you’re making a difference to your health, animals and the planet. Just replace dairy with rice or oat milk (or even vegan soya cream), swap your meat for meatless meats and make your dinner as usual. It’s easy.
• I sometimes think, would I drink the milk from the breast of a woman I don't know? No. So I think, why would I drink it from a cow.
• Eating meat is the most disgusting thing I can think of. It’s like biting into your grandmother.
• People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practice. According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering other people, since this has also been done since the earliest of times.
•  I think animals need all the help they can get, because they have none. They have no rights. They have no protection. And so I think animals need help. And I think animals look to humans for protection, and of course humans lead them into slaughterhouses, which to me is just like an image of leading children into a slaughterhouse. There's no difference. That level of trust and… But it's a very cruel world.
• We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that the animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect them and love them as we love ourselves.
• People are the only animals that drink the milk of the mother of another species. All other animals stop drinking milk altogether after weaning. It is unnatural for a dog to nurse from a mother giraffe; it is just as unnatural for a human being to drink the milk of a cow.