You're.. vegan?

I've been vegan since July 23, 2013.

Last summer, on my drive to Bethany Beach, Delaware, I passed a truck packed full of chickens. For any of you who don't know, the east coast is a big hub for the chicken business, so this truck was nothing out of the ordinary, and it's not the first truck of its kind that I've ever driven by. But for whatever reason, on that day, it had a much bigger impact. Having grown up far from the agricultural processes that produce the nicely packaged food in the nearby grocery store, I was never forced to witness or participate in the meatpacking industry. I think if more people knew what happened to make their sausages or milk, they'd think twice too. 

I'm a very emotionally and visually driven person, and both of those came together to bother me the rest of the drive to the beach. I didn't change anything at the beach that weekend, mostly because the only things people eat at the beach are chicken tenders and boardwalk fries, but I did consider it more and more. My first year at USC, two of my close friends were vegan, and while I was never interested in it and never really understood it, I was exposed to the idea. They are both vegan for health reasons, which isn't my thing, but that weekend at the beach I considered veganism more than I ever had. 

So, I got home Sunday night and by Monday, I was vegan. 

That's not to say that I didn't slip up, or that I had totally formulated my opinions on all vegan aspects of life, and I still haven't, but I have dedicated myself to preventing as much meat consumption as I can. No no no, I'm not a crazy person that won't be friends with someone because they eat meat, but I like the idea of taking my omnivorous friends to vegan restaurants, and really just exposing as many people as I can to the idea. Because after all, that's how it all changed for me. 

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People ask me if I'll ever go back to eating meat, or just milk, or eggs, and my honest answer is that I'm not sure. It's weird to think I could be vegan for the rest of my life (big decision to make at 19 huh), but it's impossible to imagine eating meat from an animal. I could see myself consuming eggs or milk or other animal products if it's something I or a close friend has personally harvested, but that's it. The inhumane treatment of animals needs to change, but even if it did, I probably wouldn't ever partake.