I completely changed my lifestyle 6 years ago. I became vegan, and my view of the world changed drastically. My life also improved drastically and here are some examples of the changes I’ve experienced.
I’m Healthier
As a child, from a young age, I developed continuous high fevers of up to 40º C ( 104 ºF .)
I was sick with colds almost every month, and, although I wasn’t a sad child, being sick did frustrate me a lot. We soon realized, I was allergic to around 12 things ( from pollen to humidity to grass ). Because of this, I was put in a treatment for 2 years and a half where I would get injected every other day. After that treatment ended, I got rid of my allergies, but I would still get sick from colds every 2 or 3 months.
My teenage years came around and I started eating awful foods that would irritate my stomach to the point where I couldn’t get up from the floor, because of the pain. I ate spicy acidic food, I drank coffee every morning, I ate very little, and I drank booze every weekend. I also enjoyed smoking at parties. All of this completely ruined my stomach. The year before I became vegan I would have to take medicine not to feel irritated with the food I was eating, which was obviously meat, dairy, and very little veggies/fruit.
Three months before I became vegan I was diagnosed with 2 tumors on my breasts at age 18. I was so shocked that out of everyone I knew, I was the one who had tumors their my body. The view I had of myself was that I was invincible and nothing could happen to me. That was wrong of course! The left tumor was growing rapidly so they had to immediately take it out of my breast. In February of 2013 I had the surgery, and by the last days of March I decided to go Vegan.
I haven’t looked back! In six years of being vegan, I have only been sick a handful of times. I experienced a significant improvement in my physical health but most importantly, I have experienced a tremendous shift in my mental health too.
Caring for Others
Humanity can be very selfish. We’re all selfish, and I was extremely selfish before going vegan.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a selfish person in the sense that I will always want what’s best for me, but the difference now is that I take into consideration everyone and everything that’s around me.
I nourish my body with amazing foods without causing harm to animals. I also take nature into consideration and do everything that is in my power not to harm it. Remember the Earth is our only home.
I have now realized that we are all in this world together and I can’t go around thinking I’m the only thing that matters.
Treating my Body with Respect
Like I said before I had a very self-destructive behavior in my teens. Smoking, drinking, drinking tons of coffee, eating very little, and sleeping around 4 hrs each night. I always felt I wasn’t good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, anything enough, and It really got me to a low emotional point in my life.
After I found veganism I realized how important my health and body were. I know it sounds very cliche but your body is your temple. It’s the house you will always live in no matter what. As I learned to respect animals, and nature, I also learned to respect my body.
I’m glad I had the chance to forgive myself, and improve upon my mistakes. I hope you can love yourself as well ( btw, you don’t need veganism to start loving yourself! )
Unnecessary People
If you aren’t vegan you may not know about this yet, but being vegan comes with a lot of hate from people around you who don’t understand your new perspective in life.
Remember you are the one that changed, not them, so to your friends and family you are the one who just became unrelatable.
You will probably lose many friends, and fight with your family members, but if you can get past that, you will realize you will be left with a handful of really important people who actually love you for who you are and will even hear you out. You don’t need people in your life who support you and your lifestyle choices.
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