From: Elaine (67.188.176.141)
Greeting: Not-so-common sense
Date: December 18, 2005 at 1:18 pm PST

I'm 23 and have been living in my own place in a new city for a little
over a year. I'm taking advantage of the freedom to explore new things,
find out what's really important, and work on building life skills to
get me through the rest of my adulthood healthfully, happily, and with
integrity.

I had some vegan friends in high school, but they were mainly obnoxious
anarchists, so all I really learned from them was an appreciation of
punk rock. I never really did like meat, maybe because my sweet mom was
never a gourmet chef. I remember once as a little kid I was told to stay
at the dinner table until I finished my pork chops, which I really
wasn't into, so I simply fell asleep at the table, lol. Even later in
life, I so disliked preparing and eating meat that my brother, then an
"armchair nutritionist" and body builder and now a med school grad,
started ordering custom blends of protein powder for me to supplement my
diet with. I also always had pets. I love animals. Especially cats.

My first introduction to a healthy lifestyle was in Japan, where I was a
foreign exchange student for 7 weeks at the age of 17. I ate and ate and
ate and ate while I was there, and came home way thinner, more outgoing
and energetic, and with a newfound disgust for my once-favorite foods
(Burger King, sodas, etc.). My first introduction to vegan food was in
my hometown (Reno, NV) at this awesome place called the Pneumatic Diner.
I highly recommend it! It's downtown near the river, on Ralston and
First streets.

After leaving my parents' house, I went on a series of searches for
health. I never had energy, I wasn't strong or flexible, I had little
control over my emotions, and I kept getting pudgier and pudgier, though
I don't think I ever weighed more than 165 lbs. I was an on-and-off gym
bunny and occasional dieter, and I hated food because it all either
tasted like crap, made you feel like crap, or left you hungry. I
rediscovered that I can't handle milk (I kept forgetting how sick it
makes me). Then I moved to San Francisco.

There are amazing restaurants here with great vegetarian and vegan
foods, weekly farmers markets, and a fabulous little organic, local,
seasonal produce delivery service called Planet Organics. I bought and
read Jo Stepaniak's "Table for Two" and "Vegan Sourcebook" (as well as
doing various internet research -- a strangely large influence on my
decision to persue a veg*n diet is stevepavlina.com) and started with
the organic produce delivery. I went on a vacation to visit my brother
in St. Maarten before he moved elsewhere (he just finished med school
there), and on the flight I devoured "Diet for a New America" by John
Robbins, which more or less cinched the deal.

I've come to the conclusion that it's just common sense. The only reason
it's so hard is because the meat and dairy industries have gotten so out
of hand. I love looking at my nutrition software (NutriBase) and seeing
how much great food I can pack into a day with so few calories, so
easily. I also love knowing that I'm ingesting less pesticides, and that
somewhere out there, acres and acres of natural resources aren't being
exploited for my sake.

So I'm going to quietly continue. I'm learning how to cook. How to live
with integrity. And I truly believe that I'm setting myself up for a
long, peaceful, and healthy life -- one that I'm completely in control of.

• Elaine's MySpace profile