This was originally published on Substack.
I remember being in my second year and wondering about how it must feel to say you are a long-term vegan. I thought it must be so cool!
I was 22 then, so I probably did use the word cool to describe it, but I don’t think it fits who I actually am now, as a long-term vegan.
It feels normal. Natural. Ordinary.
This is not something I am learning about as a newbie. I am no longer only consuming content by vegan creators, writers, influencers, and doctors. I am no longer adjusting my life to reflect my values.
All of this is done already.
What is not old news anymore, though, is my eagerness to advocate for animal liberation, or my yearning to empty myself creatively and share what I know.
I know it sounds so pretentious what I am about to say, but I am going to say it anyway.
I want to be a mentor and a guide for people who don’t know how to figure out this whole veganism thing. I want to help people to live according to their values and beliefs because it feels so fulfilling once you do!
This is what I intend to do with my Substack (and what I have been doing for a decade over at tanjajurgec.com). This is how I give back everything I received from people who, just like me, reached that point in their journey where they felt the need to share.
And what better way to start mentoring than to share what I have learnt in my 10 years of being vegan.
Here are 10 lessons that I find helpful, and you might too:
- Take it step by step, and by that I mean do not rush into something so life-changing if you don’t have the support and the funds necessary. It took me 11 months to transition from vegetarian to vegan simply because, while I had all the knowledge, I didn’t have the support or the cooking skills. And you know what? It was worth it because after 10 years, I am still thriving.
- Find good mentors to guide you on this path. After only a few months of being vegan, I stumbled upon Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, and learnt that I don’t have to be angry and depressed all the time. Now, it took me about two years to actually start finding joy in life and in the world, but I did, and it carried me.
- Stop listening to the vegan police and march to the sound of your own drum. If I listened to what leftist and progressive vegan advocates think about me, I would have lost my vegan card a long time ago. I am my own person, and I didn’t go vegan to impress them or get their approval. I am living this way because I care about non-human animals. A hundred opinions about me, and I care about none.
- Do not become obsessed with being vegan. By that I mean, do not make being vegan your whole personality. I have seen so many individuals literally spend their days thinking about how to be more and more vegan, and all they had to do was just be. Once you learn what to eat, how to read the labels, and you read a book or two on animal rights, there is really no need to think about it 24/7. Even activists who regularly witness live slaughter have lives outside of activism.
- Do not preach, but do reach… out to people who ask you for advice. In the first few years of being an advocate, I was just looking for ways to convert people, and it only worked with my father. Soon, I began to just be myself, live my life, and be open to questions from curious people. Most people in my life knew I was vegan; there was no need to remind them. If they had questions, they knew where to find me.
- Limit yourself to a few minutes every few weeks to witness the reality of animal cruelty. I now follow maybe three accounts on Instagram that post graphic photos or footage, and this is enough to remind me why I eat plant-based, but I don’t need more. Too much is too much for my mind, and if my mind is messy, so is my life. And messy is risky.
- Eat what you want to eat, not what you see online. I eat tortilla wraps four days a week, and the rest is just salads and stews with a lot of bread. It works for me, I get all the nutrients, and I enjoy preparing my meals. If you want to eat twenty-one diverse meals a week, you are free to do so, but don’t think you have to. As long as you eat healthily and colourfully, you’re good.
- If you feel called to speak up for animal liberation, do what comes easily to you. I chose writing and actively sought ways to help wildlife in my town. A decade later, this is still what makes me most motivated and inspired. When you love what you do, you do it well, and quality matters.
- Recognise that many, if not most, people just do not care about non-human animal suffering. The way to transform the pain and anger from knowing this is to focus it on helping those who do care. Do not bring breakfast to those who are sleeping or pretending to be asleep. Bring it to those who woke up starving.
- I am begging you to not drink your own piss. The number of ex-vegans who, at one point, experimented with drinking their own urine is high. Just… don’t do it, okay?
I hope these ten tips help you on your own journey, whatever that may be.
My life is still a very big mess, and I am unsure about a lot of it, but how to be and stay vegan is not one of them. It is the easiest thing in the world, and I believe this reflects how easy life can be when you live according to your own values.
The only thing you have to figure out to make it easy is how willing you are to be uncomfortable for a few weeks or months, to then live the rest of your life on easy mode.
At least when it comes to veganism, because I have no idea how to simplify anything else in our lives.
Talk soon!
Tanja
