online animal advocate

It was a quote by Martin Luther King Jr that inspired me to become an animal rights activist. Or at least I thought it was said by Dr King.

It doesn’t really matter whether or not they were his exact words or someone else’s, because they set me up for an adventure like no other.

I felt the need to do my part in liberating other animals and making this world a safer space for all species. Everyone had a job to do, I just had to figure out what mine was.

So I began writing. 

I started my first blog in December 2014 and kept it all throughout my transitioning phase from vegetarian to vegan. When the time was right, I moved on and upgraded what I did by starting to write under my own name.

My blog and my social media were my everything; they were the tools to help me get my message out. I wrote around 1000 blog posts and spent hours answering questions on Twitter and Instagram.

After 6 years of pouring my whole heart out, I deleted all but 30 posts in the midst of an impulsive episode. Yes, my mental health is not the greatest and sabotages quote a lot of my work.

So we came to the reason why I chose to be an online animal advocate.

When I was 18 I started to put myself first. I have been doing that ever since.

No more doing what I was told I should do. If someone said I have to do my activism a certain way, I closed the door and did what made me feel comfortable.

I wrote about my mental health here and here, but in short: it ain’t pretty. I can only do my best work if I am doing it on my terms and this is where I am today.

I am also not really good at being around humans, especially large groups of them. Social anxiety has been one of the greatest challenges I had to face and there are things I simply am unable to do because of it.

But when you have a dream, a vision for yourself and the world, you find the way… and I did.

There will always be someone who has it worse and most succeed anyway. I have to find the courage to go after my goals even if I will fail a million times more often than others.

There are billions of individuals who are suffering right now. I cannot save all of them, but I can reach a handful of people and help them make more ethical choices in life.

Just like I figured out how to balance my mental wellbeing with my activism, I can figure out how to help others embrace a new lifestyle without feeling like they need to sacrifice everything they love about who they are.

I may not know how to handle large groups of people or my mental illness but I know how to stay vegan for a long time without ever doubting that I have made a mistake. 

I don’t know everything, but I know something and I want to share it.

Everyone has a job to do in the animal rights movement and I am doing mine. 

It just happens to be mostly online, where I reach more people with one blog post than I would if I volunteered every day – and I get to work in an environment that brings me peace.

If you want to create a sustainable vegan lifestyle please make sure you are following me on Pinterest and Instagram.

Tanja

online animal advocate

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