Meet Kizzy! I (Lauren) have known her since kindergarten. She has always been the vibrant, funny, and creative friend. She's also vegan. I've never met anyone as passionate about being vegan as I have knowing Kizzy. It's refreshing to see someone so young with so much passion about an issue regarding health. Infact, it's very rare. Read her story below to find out more about why she made the decision to switch her eating habits.
Everyone thinks we're crazy, until you become one of us.
I wasn't born this way.
99.9% of us weren't. However we wish we were. We are the most misunderstood group of people on this planet. We are the most compassionate, the most kind, yet the most furious and outraged.
We are selfless.
Your mom matters as much as our moms. Your dad matters as much as our dads. Your children matter as much as our children. Brothers, sisters, cousins, friends.
We think about feelings, relationships. We just give a fuck.
We are VEGAN.
I didn't start the post with that because most, if not all of you would've turned away. Most people, especially those who haven't known me before I became vegan, would have turned away.
I did not fully understand why one of my first "in person" vegan friends (many of us stand alone aside from the Internet) never told people she was vegan upfront. I believe now that it's so powerful, it makes a statement. However, to most humans the statements we try to make are outrageous, idiotic and obnoxious.
Even writing this, I struggle with the direction I'd like to take it. Know this: every vegan is an angry vegan. That's just how it is.
I was sick.
I've always thought of myself as a healthy person. I could say I was one of the most health conscious out of any of the circles I ran in and no one would fight me on that. I never refused vegetables as a kid, except brussel sprouts. I'm glad people finally started seasoning those things correctly after 20 years of bland hell.
Anyway veggies were always my thing, but so were animal products. I'd chug milk like no other. I mean hey, it was "good for my bones" and it tastes great! Don't get me started on cheese! Everyone knows I was a serious cheese head, and when I got older Munster was life. It made me feel fancy too.
I could out eat ANYONE when it came to turkey hot dogs. I never wanted a bun, straight up was my thing.
Cheese. Milk. Turkeys.
It's good for my bones. Not to mention the protein.
By the age of 12, I started feeling weird. Growing pains they said. It'll pass they said. Drink milk for your bones they said. Cool.
Fast forward to my college years age 17-21. I was now known for cheese, hot dogs, and hospital visits. It was never uncommon for me to wake up throwing up, be in pain, get myself together and head to class/work. That actually lasted until I was 24 on the brink of 25.
"We are the only species that drinks other species milk" (2009)
Words I remember from a college friend, this stuck with me and the first thing to go was milk.
Since then I wanted to be as healthy as humanly possible. Started doing my research. This shit doesn't happen overnight.
2007 - diagnosed with acid reflux, GERD and all the other crazy stomach shit.
2008 - first upper endoscopy (look it up)
2009/2010/2011 - countless hospital visits and shit it's all a blur, made friends with cancer patients because at this point I was taking bags of iron and shit to make sure I didn't die.
2013/2014 - realizing milk does the complete opposite of what the industry tells you it does, I was diagnosed with the beginning stages of osteoarthritis (mind you was 24). Even though I stopped drinking baby calf food years before, this was still the outcome.
In the years 2014-2015 I basically argued with several doctors about how contradicting their advice was. I only had one doctor (a nutritionist) tell me to stop dairy. No doctor of mine has ever told me to go vegan. However, specifically related to stomach issues, I kept getting this sheet that listed food that could be fucking with me. MEAT WAS ON THE DAMN LIST.
"Should I just stop eating meat?"
"No, you need protein"
"So I should just keep eating meat for the protein even though it's literally killing me, and I'll just pop all these pills for the rest of my life while getting tubes entered through my ass and throat yearly just to make sure shit isn't going too bad"
I didn't say that last part but I damn sure wanted to. I was 24 on anywhere from 5-9 medications throughout my life. I was fucking done.
I started to feel better. Realizing the doctors we trust so much, aren't actually taught everything to help us or even themselves. Has a doctor ever told you that vegetables have way more nutrition than meat? Just think, it's pretty obvious considering that's what animals eat before they're murdered. Why aren't we eating from the source? That's like me eating my friends arm off because meat is a good protein source. Yeah...exactly.
I could go on about this forever. Veganism is not some religion or crazy bullshit. It's compassionate, eye opening logic. There are countless benefits to veganism. However vegans don't want others to confuse it with the reasons.
Reason: that baby chick did not deserve to be shredded whole an hour or less after birth because he was male and useless to the egg industry.
Benefit: I'm off all prescription medications, including my birth control which was used to help regulate my horrible, deadly periods. I also have no more horrible, deadly periods.
Alright, I'm on a rant I know. If you meet a vegan, prepare for us to not meet your myths or expectations. We are from all walks of life. We just give a fuck. If you ever cared for something or someone other than yourself, and felt it deep down in your soul, then you've felt what a vegan feels everyday.
Love, peace and coconut oil.
-KizzyAqueelah aka Kreativmind9