Molly. 21. Vegan. The Mitten.

I started my transformation around 15. There is a small farm in the park by my house, where I always go during the summer. One day I was with one of my friends and there was a calf, her name was Molly, oddly enough. This particular calf was born a few months before and was still in the barn area where they keep all of the babies. She decided to lick my arm from top to bottom that day and for some reason it just hit me. Why on Earth could I kill and eat such a beautiful being? It was at that point I decided I was going to give up eating red meat. At the time, red meat to me was considered as cow, pig, and lamb.. Even though I kind learned later on that pig is ‘the other white meat’.

I loved the fact that I wasn’t eating those animals. I thought I was such a great person for doing so. Besides, I was already getting enough ridicule from literally everyone in my life as it was, I couldn’t possibly give up chicken, turkey, or god forbid seafood. When I turned 18 I had the same click in my mind that I had a few summers back.. I felt like such a hypocrite for giving up one but not the other, so I went vegetarian.

A few months later a drastic life change occurred. I ended up completely changing my life around, in a positive way. I ended relationships with a lot of close people in my life that were seriously holding me down and I also discovered the vegan lifestyle. It was once again that I had to keep going, for the sake of animals.

The transformation started slowly. I found things that I used on a regular basis and switched them out with items that were vegan friendly that worked just as well. This really helped because a lot of the new things I purchased, I ended up liking even more! I tried a lot of different milks and gradually concluded that Tempt Hemp Milk is just the most amazing thing ever, and that there are literally plant-based alternatives to everything.

No one can ever be 100%. I strive every single day to do the best I can and I think that I succeed, but mistakes happen and people tend to call you out on them every chance they get.

At present, I am in love with the most amazing man ever who was a McD lovin’, hunter when I met him; who is now making the vegan transformation himself. I am planning a wedding and in the process of purchasing a house. I cannot wait to have a 100% plant-based kitchen and do more with animals!

My plans are to get my RN within the next couple of years, and then continue my education to get a degree in nutrition. I am also a strong pit bull advocate and am planning on being a foster mom for the world’s most misunderstood breed.

Thanks for reading!