I was an ex-vegan.
Now I've been vegan for 11 years.
I was an ex-vegan at one point.
When I first went vegan I was in high school.
I was a militant vegan (do you know that stereotype?). And I thought that being vegan meant being perfect.
But I was very susceptible to peer pressure. So I was an insufferable vegan at home with my family, but with my friends it was completely different: I kept my veganism a secret.
In university I decided to tell the world I was vegan.
But even then, the social pressure became too much. I couldn't stand people commmenting on me being vegan. I didn't like friends saying "oh right, you're vegan so you can't eat this.”
It didn't help that the cafeteria workers had a nickname for me: "The Girl Who Only Eats Vegetables" (Isn't that awful? There were barely any vegan options in the caf!). I just wanted life to be easy. I wanted to eat whatever my friends ate!
So I went back to eating dairy and eggs. I stayed vegetarian. But I felt so much guilt every time I ate dairy and eggs! Have you felt this before? I hope you haven't, because it's awful.
Eventually I decided to put up with the social pressure and went vegan for the second time.
I developed new skills to deal with any comments, name calling, or uncomfortable situations.
It IS possible to thrive as a vegan. Take it from me! I once thought it was so impossible to be vegan that I gave up on it.
Take care and focus on progress over perfection,
Serena
PS: I talk about this — in more detail — in my podcast.