Veganism begins with you

Let’s face it, being vegan isn’t always easy.  As a vegan you will face quite a few folks who really can’t understand why you won’t just “EAT SOME MEAT ALREADY” for goodness sake.  I’ve heard it a thousand times.  If I would sneeze at work, inevitably someone would blame my meatless diet for my reaction to dust.  If I would cough, stub my toe, get a paper cut, or accidentally slam my car door onto my hand (do you get the sense that I am accident prone?)- it was always due to a lack of hamburgers in my diet, not my poor sense or coordination.  One year I had to have my kidney removed (due to a birth defect) and even then, I was told I could have probably saved myself a surgery if I would just “stop the nonsense” and eat meat.  It never occurred to any of my coworkers that I hadn’t had a cold, or flu, or whatever the latest nasty virus that was going around the office was, in years- largely due to my vegan diet.  Generally speaking, I’ve never been healthier as a vegan.  And it baffles me when people think that I need meat to be healthy.  Baffles. Me.

One thing that I’ve always found to make my vegan life easier is to network with other vegans.  We might be in the minority now, but the number of vegans are growing every day.  I know it can be hard to find other vegans in your area, but they are out there.  I have found other vegans in my area simply by looking them up online.  Try VeganMeetup.com to find out if there is a local group in your area.

Hearing other vegans talk about their experiences has always made me feel less alone in this journey.  It’s nice to talk about how awesome my seitan dinner was and have people actually know what seitan is.  I know that these folks could have had people reduce their beliefs to nothing more than a joke at work- just like me, and that I can learn from them on how to deal with it.  It’s refreshing to meet these folks, and intoxicating to be around folks of a like mind.

I feel that way about YDV as well.  YDV is constantly evolving- and I’m not just talking about our new kick-ass layout.  I’m talking about community and education.  There is something to learn from every vegan, isn’t there?  Everyone has their own way of making veganism work for them.  And I think we can build a strong, caring community with that.  We’ve built the vegan stage at YDV, now  we want to hear from you.  Your voice, your passion for veganism, your hints, tips, tricks, recipes, product reviews, or events helps to make YDV a community that every vegan can learn from.  And isn’t that part of veganism?  Helping others to achieve it by education?  Sure is!

So, I invite you to share your experiences with the YDV community as a Guest Contributor.  Your voice will join us, and others around the globe talking about the plight of non-human animals.  The more voices that come together, the louder our message will be.  And, while at this time YDV does not pay for submissions, there are some pretty cool benefits from contributing.  Your post will be featured on the front page of YourDailyVegan.com- highlighted in one of our three blogs.  We will also promote your piece on our social networking profiles.  All of that, and you’ll be a part of the growing number of folks raising their voices against the violence towards non-humans.

We’re on a mission here at YDV- we want to bring unapologetic veganism to the masses and connect vegans with other vegan bad-asses.  But we can’t do it alone.  So, join the evolution and get your voice heard.  Be a guest contributor, chat in the forums, review a vegan product or promote a vegan event.  Help us help others to learn about how great veganism really is.  I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.