What's your why?

Hello everyone! Thank you for stopping by my blog and checking out the content.

My name is Tiarra. I'm a 22 year old, free spirited, fun loving vegan woman in the South. I am all about saving the planet, reducing waste and healing our bodies with plant-based nutrition.

I started my meat free journey in January of 2017, but then went completely vegan on September 4th, 2017. Many ask how, why, when, where? Well I am young with many ailments that can turn fatal at any moment. I don't want to end my life any sooner than expected. If I have the power to change my future based on what I eat, why not do it? Asthma, type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, allergies, astigmatism, intracranial hypertension, lactose intolerance and sickle cell trait. All of those make it hard to do simple, everyday tasks such as walk, exercise or even sleep. With the lactose intolerance, I was constantly bloated from the dairy products I consumed. I woke up on Labor Day 2017 (Sept. 4th) and I said to myself "I am tired of feeling this way!". At that moment, I got out of bed, walked in my kitchen and immediately started throwing away everything that had animal products in it. From the pantry to the seasoning cabinet, I cleaned out my kitchen completely. Enough was enough.

Since I made that bold move 7 months ago, my life has changed in so many ways. Physically, I feel on top of the world. My asthma has calmed down tremendously. I rarely use my inhaler unless it is for emergency purposes. The bloated feeling is no longer a part of my daily well being, my skin has cleared up and blood sugar has been stabilized so I do not require medication to regulate it. Mentally, I have clearer thoughts. My mind feels free from shackles and I am able to make better decisions, and I have even opened my mind a bit more to accept new concepts and learn new tasks. Being vegan, you have to look outside yourself and look into the world, the universe. You have to see that this is something bigger than ourselves. We are not only making our own bodies better, but we are helping the world in more ways than one. Socially, I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to help me get to where I am now.  Working at Whole Foods definitely helps with being vegan. Not only do you get a discount on food, but even some of your coworkers are vegan as well, so you have constant back up. Many vegan customers come through my line and we discuss food, the environment and much more. I've made great friends by sharing my food on all my social media platforms, and even describing it to random strangers I see in public.

One thing I hear constantly is "I could never be vegan"or "I like meat too much". Well let me say this, never say never. You are the only thing that stops you from achieving your goals in life. The energy you use to say "I can't..." or "I could never..." is the same energy you can put towards switching your beef burger to a black bean burger or your dairy milk to almond milk.

You have the power to change yourself and the world.

What's your why?