I have been vegan for a little over 2 years now. My biggest struggle before then was the high expectations and perfectionism I had. I had to be perfectly vegan or I’d give up and have a pint of ice cream – silly. I’d easily get overwhelmed.
Really, what matters to me is that I eat and use however many fewer animal products I can – I don’t have to be perfect. So, once I thought of it that way, I took it gradually. Gave up on one product, say, ice cream, but continued to eat another dairy product, say about once a month, some cream cheese on a bagel (I had been vegetarian so I didn’t and don’t miss meat or even like it). A little over 2 years ago, it got to where I didn’t eat any of the dairy products. Occasionally, I’m sure, as a VERY dedicated Vegan once told me (who had the word Vegan, literally, cow-branded – burned – into his arm, in solidarity with cows), occasionally, like he said, at a restaurant, I’m sure some butter might slip in when you asked to not have it, or some product you had to eat in a pinch had some trace amounts of milk or honey, but the important part is that I make the effort not to buy into the mass production way of treating animals. The practice I got into when becoming vegan was to read ingredients lists. Even if I wasn’t becoming vegan, what an eye opener! To see what is put into our food – to think we put things in our mouth and don’t know what’s in them! To think animals are used in products when they just as easily don’t need to be.
So, if you want my advice, and I don’t know that you do, do what YOU can at THIS time. It’s better than doing nothing and not caring. Be vegan or vegetarian once a week if that’s where you need to start – it makes a difference and it’s a good starting point.
I avoid buying leather, but I do wear a little make-up. I think it is very overwhelming to buy purely vegan products when it comes to non-food. It seems a great number of products aren’t completely vegan, but I try my best with my budget. As for the environmental cause, I’ve been trying to make my own cleaners with combinations of vinegar, water, ammonia, lemon juice, baking soda, etc. Working well for me so far, but I still have the old cleaning products in the house. I figure I might as well get some use out of them. I take things one step at a time – that was key for me in becoming vegan – but I’m happy and satisfied with the station I’m in. After struggling with thinking that I’m not “vegan enough,” right now, for over 2 years now, I think I AM vegan enough and growing.
