Sunday, July 3, 2011

A lil' bit about me (=

Hey guys! Here's a little bit about me, the 'student crusader'. First off, I was started on the path of activist animal rights over a year ago through one of my friend's having a 'peta2' sticker on her cellphone. Now, for my readers who don't know what 'peta2' is, it's PETA's youth division. Of course I wanted cute stickers so she told me how to get them and so I did. While I was on the site, though, I started to look around on the other pages. Pages that showed what abuse our food livestock go through, primarily on big-business factory farms. This...didn't sit well with me...at all. As a Wiccan, we have one basic tenet, "An harm ye none, do what ye will." I'd never really thought about this outside the realm of humans, but this site really made me think about where I REALLY stand. I decided that animals are sentient beings and could, in fact, be harmed and FEEL the harm done to them. SO at 11p.m. on July 9, 2011, I became a vegan. Cold turkey,for the next week I saladed myself out because I had no idea what to eat (to this day I'm not too fond of salads.) Veganism is just where it started, I started learning about other forms of animal exploitation that I felt I didn't agree with. Some of these included using animals in circuses, Seaworld, the breeding of animals, and many other things. I started to carry pamphlets (provided by peta2) in my school bag at all times in case an enlightening moment came up in conversation with a friend. I do my best to find a balance between being vocal in my beliefs but not being preachy or pushy. I normally try to incorporate these views in my English and creative class assignments (Hey, can't complain when you get a grade for doing something you love (= )
I'm currently 15, in 10th grade and live in Appalachia. My hobbies include web site coding/designing, art, and poetry.
~Peace, Love, and Happiness (=

Next Week is my Vegan-niversary! How you can be vegan too!

On July 9, 2011, I will have spent 1 year vegan. Have I had trip-ups? Of course, but who HASN'T gotten halfway through a box of crackers only to find out they contain some dairy ingredient? But to celebrate, I think I'll splurge on some delicious veg-friendly Boca Burgers and throw them on the grill (;
Going vegan is a GREAT step to try to help animals, it means that you don't support animal factory farms of ANY kind.

veg·an (n)
:a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal food or dairy products; also : one who abstains from using animal products (as leather)


Atleast that's Merriam-Webster's definition of what being vegan means. Being vegan can become so much more, it can even be an extension of who you are. Think you might wanna try taking the vegan plunge? Go ahead, make a 30 day vegan pledge and see if you can't stick with it!
There are many methods you can take to going vegan; one of which is stopping consumption of animal products cold turkey (that was my road). To some people, this method may be easier than the next method I'll recommend, which is to slowly remove animal products from your diet. In this method, you can either all together decrease your intake, or you can stop eating an item per week, like: Week 1 - No fish, Week 2 - No fish, no beef; Week 3 - No fish, no beef, no chicken, no dairy; etc.
Another thing altogether, if you're not ready to go full out vegan, is vegetarianism. Vegetarianism usually will only exclude meat, and occasionally eggs from one's diet. The same methods above can still apply for this.
The types of vegans out there can vary also, some only exclude animal products from their diet, while others exclude them from all of their lifestyle. Some won't evenbuy products that are tested on animals. Everyone's different so do what feels right to you, every little bit helps animals.
If you'd like to learn more about adopting the vegan or vegetarian lifestyle and even recieve a 'starter kit', head your pretty little head on over to THIS PAGE.
Have a nice day everyone!