Happy Veganniversary to Me!
Today marks the beginning of my 4th year as a vegan!
1,095 days as a vegan has taught me a lot, and I thought I would take this opportunity to share my top 4 tips for living a purposeful and happy vegan life!
ONE... Sriracha and nutritional yeast are your friends.
Feel free to use liberally.
Feel no shame.
TWO... Don't let anyone steal your spark.
I mean this in both a specific and more broad be-your-own-majestic-unicorn sense.
Specifically, in relation to veganism, don't let anyone make you feel guilty for your choices. You are doing immeasurable good for the welfare of animals, your health, and the environment. Don't feel you ever have to apologize for that. People will try to tear you down. That's the unfortunate truth. But you're doing your best to leave a positive impact on the world, and if that makes other people feel bad, that's not your problem.
I understand that vegans tend to be sensitive people. Plants know, I am. But don't let the haters give you a heavy heart or make you a stereotype of 'the angry vegan'. Be proud of who you are, of what you're doing. Be passionate. You deserve to be!
THREE... Know your facts.
The more you know about the realities of animal agriculture, plant based nutrition, and ethics the easier your life as a vegan will be.
When someone criticizes or questions your way of life, the easiest way to diffuse the situation is to educate. If you really know your stuff, it becomes much harder to argue against.
Be kind and understanding but don't back down on the facts. Truth is truth, no matter how much people try to deny it. Eventually the facts will add up.
That's exactly why I started this blog, to simultaneously educate omnivores, vegetarians, and fellow vegans! I wanted a place to record the information I have been continuously learning over the past 3+ years where it could benefit more than just myself.
If you really don't know where to start, go to this page and download the vegan 101 booklet I created for just that - quick, easily digestible facts on the main facets of the vegan lifestyle. (It's free! Just scroll down a bit to the green box.) You can even print it out and carry it around with you for reference when you need it or save it to your phone!
Empower yourself and take charge of your interactions with others. As much as we might dislike the responsiblity, we may be the only vegan this person has ever met. You, at some time or another, will represent all vegans. So know your stuff!
FOUR... Have fun with it!
Being vegan isn't all about doom and gloom. Yes, the world is in a frightening state. Yes, there is much to be sad and angry about. Yes, change is coming far too slow.
But if you focus on these things too much, they will take over your life. And not in a good way. (Believe me, I know.)
Activism is important. Every kind of activism has its place. And there's no rule saying you have to stick to one kind of activism for your entire life.
Feeling particularly riled up? Go protest or participate in a demonstration! Yell until you lose your voice!
Feeling more grounded and at peace? Take time to connect with people about these issues one on one. Have deep, meaningful conversations.
Feeling inspired to cook glorious vegan foods? Do it - and share widely!
Veganism is about being compassionate to all sentient beings. And guess what... that includes you. Don't neglect to show yourself compassion. We need as many strong, happy, fulfilled vegans as possible to bring about the changes that are sorely needed.
Don't forget to be one of them.
How long have YOU been vegan, vegetarian, or veg-curious?
I want to know!
Until next time,
Do you ever finish a book and wonder if you really understood it? Do you give 5 stars to pretty much every book you read? Do you watch reviews of a book you enjoyed and find yourself surprised that the reviewer picked up on so many things you didn’t?
If this sounds like you and you want to make a change, this video is for you:
I set out this year to read a book from every country in the world and created a spread in my reading journal to track my progress (see image below). When I mentioned my goal in a YouTube video the suggestions started flooding in, and I realized it was worth taking the time to put together a little resource for us all to share!
One of the most common questions I have received over the past 7 years as a vegan is “How do you get enough [insert macro- or micronutrient here]?” This is a question I have explored in great detail on this blog, with dedicated posts focusing on protein, iron, B12, and so much more. And while I will always believe that getting your nutrition from whole plant foods is the best first choice, it’s not always a possibility for every person. Whether you live in a food desert with little access to fresh foods or struggle with digestive complications that make eating large amounts of high fiber foods a painful experience, sometimes supplementation is the only answer.
Today I will be sharing with you my favourite vegan gummy vitamins for maintaining optimal health as a vegan of over 7 years!
I have collected many of the resources from my Anti-Racism highlight on Instagram into this blog post as possible for those of you who don’t use Instagram but still want to do the work to become anti-racist. I will continue to update this page.
From January 5th to January 19th, $1 will be donated to the Australian Red Cross for every order placed to aid in emergency relief for those affected by the bushfires currently ravaging Australia.
With all of the hype surrounding the final season of Game of Thrones, I KNEW I had to celebrate my love for this epic fantasy world by creating a Game of Thrones themed bullet journal set up for May 2019!
I guess it’s almost 2019? I’m not sure how, but ok! Come hang out with me while I set up mu letterboard theme in my bullet journal for January 2019 and be sure to check out my husband’s set up next week (there will be a giveaway!)
Hello again :) This video is incredibly special to me, as I’m setting up my husband‘s first ever bullet journal! I’m super excited about this one and I hope you enjoy this video as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
Hi all! I'm excited to share my completed Rhodia Webnotebook with you today as I flip through all of my bullet journal spreads from January to September 2018 :)
It’s almost October and it’s time to set up my bullet journal for the new month! Hang out with me while I plan using a cozy fall, nighttime theme with a little touch of spookyness thrown in there for good measure. Let’s get into it!
How am I getting rid of 2018 things in the last couple months of 2018? Using the classic #MinimalismGame format, of course! Let me walk you through how you can do it, too, and give you an update on my minimalism journey so far (3 years in the making)!
Hello again! I'm very excited to share my September Plan With Me video with you. This month I went with a woodland and wildflowers theme and I love how it turned out! Thank you again to my instagram family for giving me the idea and be sure to go follow me there if you want a say in what themes I do each month!
I'm turning 26 in a few days, and I wanted to share some of the nuggets of wisdom I've picked up along the way in my first quarter century of life!
I'm excited to be sharing my brand new work project management spread with you today! This is a combination of a leveled up to do list and a dynamic kanban board, and I am really looking forward to starting to use it in my day-to-day.
Hi friends! We have finally arrived at part 3 of our moon series, the Tombow Dual Brush Pen Moon Tutorial!
Hi friends! Due to popular demand, here is my Watercolour Moon Tutorial/Watercolour Moon Painting Process!
Plan with me for May 2018 with a Star Wars theme! And May the fourth, I mean force, be with you!
After getting a bunch of questions about how I drew the line art animals in my April Plan With Me video (which you can watch here) I decided to make a little tutorial showing more in depth what I do and giving you all my tips and tricks!
Plan with me for December with a winter pinecone and birch tree theme in my bullet journal!
Elizabeth Turnbull
Coined by Elizabeth Jean @xparmesanprincessx, the personal curriculum trend is about creating a self-directed learning plan focused on areas of personal interest, loosely based on a school curriculum structure, including things like assigned reading, goals, assignments, and final projects.
At its core, the personal curriculum movement is about celebrating lifelong learning and intellectual curiosity. It's about being more intentional about how we spend our time when we're not sleeping, or at work, or doing the basic maintenance or admin or chores to keep our lives going. It's about using our free time to enrich our lives in a way that is purposeful and intentional and joyful, indulging our curiosity as adults, even once we're outside of structured school environments, getting excited about learning and allowing ourselves the freedom to go down those rabbit holes in our special interests, to challenge our brains in ways that we maybe don't get the chance to in our day-to-day lives.