I was first introduced to veganism by my best friend Lola. We were inseparable in and outside of school, so when she decided to go vegan in February 2015 I learnt about it primarily through her. Lola was never pushy with her views about veganism, I knew it was important to her, and because of this I began to take interest in it. I wanted to learn more about it: what veganism meant to her and why she was passionate about it, and as I learned more, I began to understand and agree with her decision and reasons to go vegan. I grew up in the standard, meat and three veg whanau, and I was a very fussy eater growing up so I didn't eat a large variety of food. But, whenever I was at Lola's house I would come home having tried a new food or meal, and a lot of the time I'd enjoy the meal so much that I want to remake it for my own whanau. A whole new world of delicious food I had never been previously open to eating was now becoming at times personal favourites.

I had tried going vegan a few times, all attempts only lasting for a couple weeks and then I'd give up and go back to eating how I normally would. I have a memory of talking to my Dad in early 2016 about veganism (before I was vegan) and I was saying how I really agree with the philosophy of veganism, (I'm sure I was sounding pretty sanctimonious) and he replied with something along the lines of "Taylah you're being a hypocrite, you still eat meat, you're not vegan...". I remember this instance because it made me realise that my actions were not aligning with my values, but at that point, I still hadn't figured out my WHY for going vegan.

In June 2016, I decided to partake in 'Junk-Free June' with some friends, and I decided to do junk-free and vegan at the same time to challenge myself. My transition into veganism was very easy, at this point, after many attempts at going vegan previously, I had many recipes to go off and eating vegan was no longer that challenging, and I was the primary cook for my whanau so I had almost full control over what we would eat. I am very lucky that my Mum is very supportive, as well as my younger sister deciding to go vegan at the same time. My other siblings were/are still omnivores so if they wanted to eat meat or dairy they would just cook and add that themselves. I do admit that I failed at the junk-free part pretty soon into the month (I started to do a lot of vegan baking). I also did mess up with being vegan twice that month; both times were at parties where I was very drunk and ended up eating pizza or chips that weren't vegan. But, what I learned from these two 'failures' was that I didn't eat them because I missed traditional pizza or chips, I just wanted to eat and that next time I just had make sure to bring my own food/snacks, I also learned that just because I messed up didn't mean I couldn't keep going. At the very end of June, I reflected on the month of vegan eating and the mess ups that occurred and I asked myself 'Do I want to be vegan? And if so, why?' I watched a video (I can't remember who by) that resonated with me in regards to answering this question, it said:

" I aspire to be a peaceful, non-violent, loving person and by consuming animal products, that does not align with the morals and values I want to live by. I want my actions to reflect my values... being vegan is the very least I can do."

Over time I began to learn more about veganism outside of just what I ate. I've made changes to all parts of my life: my clothes/shoes, my makeup, my skin/hair care, everything I buy... because being vegan isn't just about what you eat. I have watched documentaries like Cowspiracy, What The Health, Forks Over Knives, Dominion, that talk about the effects animal product consumption has on our environment, our health and the animals. Through watching these documentaries, and doing my own personal research, my reason for being vegan became multifaceted and significant.

I have been fully vegan since July 2016, deciding to be vegan is one the best decisions I have ever made in my life. I am very proud to be vegan, it is very important to me, and I know I will be vegan for the rest of my life.

Nga mihi,Taylah