I remember back in 2015 or 2016, thinking how I could not wait to be a long-term vegan. It seemed like the coolest thing ever, being able to say “yeah, I’ve been vegan for a decade”. And now, over a decade in, I can say I was not wrong, but I was also still in the “newbie” mindset, and long-term veganism is nothing like I expected.
When you are just transitioning or simply living out your first few months, you are caught up in the mix of curiosity, challenges, and a whole ton of passion. Because you only know this, you think it will never calm down, so you visualise being years in and still struggling with the same shit as you are now.
Or being excited about the same things, or just being the same person. Naturally, this is not the case, and I want to talk about the reality that you don’t hear often.
The fact is, there will come a day when you will wake up in the morning, prepare yourself breakfast, and while you’re pouring cappuccino in your mug, it will hit you.
“Is this it?”
Yes, this is it. It is mundane, almost boring at times. You go shopping, and you don’t think about veganism, because it’s so ingrained in you that you don’t have to think about it. You go about your day, hang out with friends (hopefully, many are vegan), walk your dog, read interesting books, watch fun romcoms, and you still don’t think about how vegan you are.
Unless you are a volunteer, advocate or activist, all three of which I encourage you to do, you will not actively try to be vegan. This is good. It means that living vegan in a world that was not made for us, we can still be normal, average, boring people.
You may want excitement, but I think most prefer normalcy. We don’t want to struggle and constantly try to be and do better, because it’s exhausting. The beginnings are so chaotic, but the good chaotic, that you get overwhelmed in the best way possible.
The things you can do are limitless. Thousands of books await. Thousands of people whose content you can consume await. Thousands of podcasts await. There is so, so much to explore, and when you’re just at the entrance of a rabbit hole, this is one of the best feelings, but it doesn’t last.
Many people who created brands around veganism quit because it became their entire identity. There was pressure on them to prove how vegan they were daily, and when you’ve been doing the same content for years, how else can you prove you’re vegan?
They couldn’t stop because that was their source of income, so they made veganism, a philosophy, something you can get better and better at. It wasn’t something to help others with, like what I’m doing, but a lifestyle they had to prove over and over again.
So they posted daily about all the vegan brands they worked with. They posted about all the vegan books they were reading. They posted about the vegan documentaries they were watching. They posted about all the sanctuaries they were visiting.
And it still wasn’t enough, because in the comments, you would find gems like these:
“I saw you posted ice cream on your stories last night, so I am wondering if the ice cream was vegan?”
“Is that sweater made from real wool? As you know, wool is not vegan.”
“Are you going to promote the latest documentary?
It was never enough, and as I said earlier, because this was not their doing to teach others how to go vegan, it was difficult to share their personal life, with the “vegan” brand all over it, and just be normal. Their audience followed them for veganism and animal rights, not to just show the boring side of veganism (which, again, is good and the ultimate goal).
This is not me defending their choice to stop being vegan, as nothing is ever good enough of a reason to stop being vegan, but I understand some of it. I understand because I know the feeling of being a new vegan, and I understand not knowing what will happen, because, well, you are new.
Veganism being boring is the goal. Veganism being normal is the goal.
You should want to stop being obsessed with the label and not feel the need to prove how perfect you are. Don’t we want veganism to be accepted and something people want to try and live? Then we should normalise it, and talk about how it’s only the first few months that are “exciting”.
People don’t want to try it because they think it’s hard, which, hot take, is partially our fault. We failed at making veganism the easiest thing in the world because we are too focused on bringing each other down for the smallest things, which ultimately are not even about veganism.
Instead of expecting every vegan influencer and content creator to promote being vegan at every turn, maybe we should allow them to expand and show how it’s just a normal part of their life. Again, I am not talking about vegan educators whose entire work and brand is literally about veganism. We chose that, haha.
Let vegans live, because it just might be the best way to promote this ethical and moral philosophy.
Make veganism mundane, almost boring, and maybe people will be less scared.
Tanja
