The Day my Life Changed, by Yara Zalzal

Summer of 2011. This was when my journey toward a plant-based diet and animal welfare started seeing the light of day. As I was hiking the Austrian Alps with a group of international students, I stumbled upon a herd of free range cows, lying there, peacefully, and having the time of their lives. I instantly felt a connection, but I went back to the Schloss where we were being housed and ate a meat-based dish. I was 18 at the time and was going through enormous life-changing experiences. It took me a year and a half to entirely shift my diet. My younger brother has been my biggest influence on this front since he turned vegetarian ever since he was 15 years old. I remember the days I used to make fun of him for not eating meat and how thoughtless and heedless I must have been at the time. He was the one who would always have his little animal toys around him and would spend the day playing with them. We always had our family dogs around whom we used to buy from pet shops or reputable breeders. We had no idea at the time and our parents didn't know any better back then. We all knew for sure that we loved animals and did not want any harm done to them. My greatest turning point was when I rescued my first dog back in 2012 and that was when I was able to put all the pieces together and somehow recalled my cow experience at the Alps. I finally made the connection and was ready to change my ways. I always knew that wasn't enough and that going vegan was the next step ahead because of the pain they felt... Well, I couldn't shake the thought of it out of my head. Not to mention all the negative consequences consuming meat and dairy products inflict upon our health and the environment. I wanted what was best for them. I wanted to reduce my carbon-footprint. Wanted to take care of my health. I made the ultimate shift back in December 2020, when the world was collapsing and when I realized how my actions, including the consumption of dairy products, among others, actually led to this pandemic. I learned the hard way that cruelty leads to more cruelty. When we eat meat, we are storing so much negativity inside our bodies, so much death. Change occurs one step at a time.