Hi! i'm excited to start exploring this forum!!

Maya Helwani

Newcomer
Joined
Jul 8, 2018
Reaction score
1
Age
23
Lifestyle
  1. Vegan
  2. Vegan newbie
First I'll start by saying today is my first birthday as a full vegan! (I turn 18 today). I became vegetarian about two years ago because I couldn't believe what animals are put through just so people can eat them. Then around January of 2018 my sister and I found out that not all cheese is vegetarian!! Because of that I found it too diffucult to search for vegetarian cheeses so I just cut it out of my diet. I also had stopped drinking regular milk before I turned vegetarian, so when I gave up cheese I found myself eating a mainly vegan diet anyway. Originally I planned on making the transistion from vegetarian to vegan when I would eventually start living on my own, but I realized it actually isn't as hard as I thought to go vegan even though my mom and three brothers still eat meat. My sister joined me in going vegan a few months later. After research I have also found that it's so much better for the environment and for your health to be living a plant-based diet! I'm still learning about veganism and vegan products other than just food, but I'll get it eventually!!
Now, a little more about my personality. I find it extremely hard to communicate and build friendships with the people around me because of the vast difference in interests. My sister is the only other vegan I know. I have a friend who is vegetarian but she doesn't really care about the whole cheese thing. It's just so hard to relate to people when my only passions are veganism, nutrition, and animals!! Yes, a lot of people love animals but it's hard really believe them when they say how much they love animals and then procede to devour a cheeseburger... Even just house pets, a lot of people don't understand the proper care for animals past dogs and cats. I told my friend I wanted to get a 5 or 10 gallon tank for my baby betta fish and she thought I was crazy. I have 7 guinea pigs; my 5 females are kept in a 2x10 grid cage (each grid is 14x14 in., so larger than a foot). When people see my cage for my guineas they think I'm insane when really I'm thinking wow I should make this bigger...
Ahh sorry to ramble away. That's another thing about me, I'm extremely shy and hard to talk to unless it's about something I'm passionate about. Ask me about the latest movies. I'll probably be quiet. As me about the latest songs. I'll probably be quiet. Ask me about my pets. Try to get me to shut my mouth.
 
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Reactions: Forest Nymph
Welcome to the forum! I think getting a huge tank for your beta fish would be nice! (I used to have a 38 gallon tank for not a ton of fish. Now I don't have fish or a tank, but I remember them fondly.)
 
welcome Maya and congrats on making great life choices at such an early age!

I am continually amazed and gratified by the dedication and passion of teenagers today and I am sure over the next year or two you will find a group of friends that you will be comfortable with.

Emma JC
 
Welcome to the forum and great to have you here! Good for you to taking such steps !