Wouldn’t it be great if we could just say things without worrying if it’s okay to let it out? Sometimes I feel like I need to scream just so I can be heard. That’s one way to look at this elephant. With this blog I’d like to show the elephants of my mind for all to see. Or at least for all who are sitting around looking for blogs to read.
I want to show my passions and have them be seen as beautiful. I wish more people were passionate.
I am a vegan. I’m not crazy. I make choices. The taste of meat is something I’ve never enjoyed. I used to slip meat under the table to my dog, just so I could leave the dinner table. In college, I would gag when I had to go home and eat meat. I couldn’t eat it without conjuring the image of my own flesh heated up until it was crispy and on someone else’s plate.
That’s when I realized I needed to change my lifestyle; I couldn’t keep putting myself through the torture of eating what I found disgusting. I became vegetarian 8 years ago and vegan 3 months ago.
Sometimes it makes me sad that it is difficult to go to a fancy restaurant and get ONE meal that does not include eggs or milk, but I feel that this is changing and we will become a more tolerant community.
I’m starting to change other parts of my life also. I try to buy products that are better for the environment. Especially as my husband and I become more financially stable, we want to support companies that focus on being green and we want to be greener ourselves.
We tried to show our commitment to our values when we got married. We took the “T” (Boston subway) from our church to our reception and it attracted a lot of attention! We had vegetarian ONLY options for dinner. This was not only a big statement to our guests but also to the hotel where we were having our reception. Although our coordinator made some incredibly insensitive comments, she also broadened her view of what a reception could be a great deal. After all her reservations about our choices, she came up to us during the reception and said, “This has been the most fun wedding I’ve helped to plan!”
Now here’s my next elephant: I want to do more. I am drawn to helping children, that’s why I’m a teacher, but I think there are other ways that I can help. I want to help children see that there are other options out there–they don’t have to just follow in their families footsteps. They can change things.
This may not seem like an elephant that you can’t share, but in my mind it is. It identifies me as “idealistic”. And this can sometimes be a synonym for childish. But I think people like me are important too.
