Back in December, I decided I wanted to go vegan, however, I had to wait till the new year because there was NO WAY I was going to miss eating my mom‘s chicken stew. You see she only cooks that once in a while, so I enjoy it when it that one time. I remember on the 31st telling my mom I was going vegan, it went something like this:
Me: Hi mom I am going vegan starting tomorrow
Mamma: What is that? *in our tribe language*
Me: I will be giving up meat and anything that comes from animals
Mamma: *shakes her head* *does the African smirk* why?
Me:...
So why did I decide to go vegan? I wish there was a deeper meaning but to be honest all my reasons are selfish. I went vegan because I wanted to challenge myself on how long I could last and wanted to see what this challenge could teach me. I began my journey by doing my research, I wanted to know everything I could about veganism (the substitutes, the vitamins needed, the recipes I can learn). Going vegan for me wasn’t hard, I had already given up eggs a while back, I don’t like cheese, and the only meat I ate almost daily was chicken tenders (like said earlier meat stews are cooked once in a while). But there was one thing that was difficult, giving up chai (Kenyan tea); milk is a major ingredient. I have drunk chai since I can remember, if I was stuck in the desert, this will be the drink I would want to be stuck with. The first week was rough because chai was everywhere, so I decided to use plant-based milk as a substitute. Yeah, that didn’t go well, IT JUST WASN'T THE SAME TASTE! So I gave up chai, and my vegan journey began on Jan 13th, 2020. The challenge was a month after the month ended I reflected on what this journey has taught me, below is a few things
1. I love vegan food - I cooked all my food, and it was great learning to cook different foods
2. Money saved - I can’t tell you the last time I went to a fast-food restaurant. I love home-cooked food, that is what I have grown up on. But because time catches up to us in college and we have fast food places everywhere, we take the time saving route. Going vegan required me to read the labels and make sure it is actually vegan. And I wasn’t going to buy salad or fries (usually the safe route to take at fast-food chains). This at times was not easy because I had to decide to not join my friends meeting at fast food place just so as not to fall out. It’s okay because the money I could have used, I used it toward buying groceries and cooking a delicious Meal.
3. Self-control, this year I talked with God and told him I want to live out all the fruit of the Spirit. So I asked him to work on the ones I struggle with the most, self-control (in the little things I don’t pay as much attention to) being one of them. Having to look the other way when I’m craving fast food meal because I smelled it from far away, having to say no to meet up, craving chai but holding on and committing to completing my challenge. It was the little things that God used to teach me self control
4. I can leave without meat and chai if I had to
I have enjoyed my vegan journey, but I did miss my chai. After accomplishing my goal, I treated myself to a warm cup of chai that I whipped up the morning after the last day. I can‘t really call myself vegan anymore (I never really did that was peoples’ title, I just considered myself going vegan) because I do drink non-plant-based milk, and if I went home and my mamma cooked meat stew, best believe I would enjoy it.
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