How I Became the 'V-Word'

Everyone has a tipping point; that one moment where everything syncs in your mind and you realise your morals and compassion have to align with your daily lifestyle. Some come later than others and that’s okay, as long as we all get there in the end for humanities sake.

My realisation didn’t come until Christmas 2015, I was 20. Some may say this is early in life to realise but I’m still astonished it didn’t come sooner. After being vegetarian for 8 years, purely because I thought it was weird to eat a living being and didn’t feel comfortable doing so, I watched Cowspiracy whilst eating a cheese pizza. That was the last dairy I knowingly ate (apart from the occasional curry shop mint sauce that I will come back to later).

School was constantly feeling left out, being called “rabbit” and people finding my ironic surname “Bacon” hilarious on a daily basis (people still mention it when they find out and I just let them have a little giggle and get over it). I was always a fussy eater and that combined with vegetarianism led to an eating disorder. Many didn’t recognise it but my relationship with food was distant. I spent 6 months eating only Quorn mince spaghetti bolognaise that my Nan made, bananas and a double pack of custard cream biscuits every week. My relationship with food totally changed when I realised I’d been vegan at heart for a long time. The guilt of eating animal products had gone and I began to enjoy food. People claim I’m “fussy” just because I’m vegan but I will now eat absolutely anything… as long as it’s vegan.

I also suffer with anxiety and the peak was around the age of 18. There are studies that show the decline in mental health issues amongst vegans due to actual health benefits which to be honest I don’t know much about. However, when I was 21 I came off my antidepressants. Not saying it has “cured” it because it’s something that will always be with me but I give a lot of the credit to veganism. Living guilt free in terms of my consumption of food certainly helps me daily.

I became a food vegan. I didn’t think much about beauty products or clothing. Everyone transitions at different paces and with different things first and that’s okay because we’re all aiming for the same goal and we’ll all get there. It wasn’t until my mum went vegan in April 2017 and I came home really proud of my new bargain Doc Martens that I stopped and thought about this side of animal abuse. She’d bought me some new Docs and an Olivia Burton leather watch the Christmas just a few months previous (pre-mum-vegan), but when I bought these home she began telling me I shouldn’t be buying these if I’m broadcasting veganism and trying to educate people. I do still have these and am currently trying to decide what to do with them as there’s so many for’s and against’s for every option. My mum has since bought me some of the new vegan Doc Marten range and I adore them! Beauty products was always going to be difficult as everyone finds their comforts, things that work with their skin and things within their price range. I have used Liz Earle face products for a few years now and swear by them. I use Superdrug’s own raspberry shampooand conditioner as it is honestly the only thing I’ve found to not strip the bright pink out of my hair in 2 washes! I’ve also tried a few different brands of make-up including Body Shop, B by Superdrug, Gosh, NYX and Barry M which are all cruelty free but not all their range is vegan (topic for another time). I still have a few items of make-up that aren’t vegan but I’d always said I’d rather use them up than just throw them away and impact the environment.  You can’t beat yourself up when you’re doing all you can within your means.

Back to the mint sauce… I love a curry. A vegetable dhansak to be precise. And with that they always give you a little pot of mint and yoghurt sauce. Now I always ate it if it came with the curry, I’d never ask for it, because I was under the mind-set of “well the damage has been done already so I might as well get some pleasure out of the misery”. Fucked up, I realise that now. It wasn’t until my boyfriend (very newly converted) and I had our first fully vegan take away together just 3 months ago and I went to open it as he glared at me and told me no… that I thought about all the other reasons not to eat that animal product that I’d always justified before. He is my greatest vegan inspiration and I admire his dedication in such a short space of time, but we’ll get to that and my family in another post. I was aware I shouldn’t have been having that sauce every time I did and every time I was met with severe stomach ache, guilt, and upset after. I now don’t do that and I wouldn’t even think about it, I even ask specifically for them not to give it.  Same with sweets and alcohol, which have taken me a long time to transition but I'm now on track and find Barnivore a great aid in doing so.

That’s the basis of my vegan transition. I’m still transitioning daily and with the support I now have around me I’m becoming a better vegan, a better me, every day. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t do it all over night. Do what you can, when you can, but always make sure you show compassion to animals, the environment, yourself, your health and other people around you as much as is possible.