A change in opinion on a social
standard or normality is never an easy state-of-mind for a number of people to
stand by. With ridicule tending to come from every twist and turn in your life
based on the opinions that you have built yourself on, it becomes increasingly
difficult to stay true to the ideas that you have conjured for yourself. These
changes in opinion may come gradually over time as you gather more evidence and
support for your new outlook; conversely, for others, a change in opinion may
come quickly or suddenly. In my case, my opinionative view on animals and
environmental protection feels as though it has always been innate. It has been
no secret to myself, my parents, and some of my friends that I had long been
considering vegetarianism since my high school days a couple years ago;
however, with my recent and sudden transition to veganism, the people closest
to me have wondered and questioned my reasons for having had made such an
overwhelming change.
I never felt a sense of
realization for my careful feelings towards animals, that realization, however,
did come to my view as soon as I transitioned to veganism. At first, this transition
stemmed from my growing knowledge over health and nutrition; in fact, for a
while, I made myself believe that health was the only benefit from a vegan
diet. With time, I began to learn that veganism is more than a diet, it is a
lifestyle, and a big part of this lifestyle lies within the little forms of
activism that are done by simply making the change to an animal product-free
life. Gruesome images and videos of animal treatment in farms and
slaughterhouses, however much I squirmed, provided visual evidence of the true
acts against these living creatures; therefore, I felt as though this change was
more than just about health, it was about having a place for these living
creatures in your heart.
As not everyone would be willing
to make a change to veganism for just any reason, I was finding it very
difficult to express my own reasons to those around me. I was finding this more
difficult to explain to my own parents due them ridiculing and questioning the
diet change; however, it could be expected that a parent would be concerned
about any health risks that could arise from it. As for friends, they have been
more understanding about this lifestyle change, even though they do tend to crack
little jokes about it from time to time. Although I have had to deal with manageable situations such as those with close family and friends, I have not yet been faced with
too many uncontrollable social situations in which my diet could conflict with others; in
fact, I am beyond grateful that I have been able to avoid this situation since
it could have many different results depending on those around me.
