Almost half my life I grew up thinking eating meat and dairy were OK and the right things to eat if I wanted to stay healthy. It wasn't until I was 16 that I heard about veganism. The first thing that came to my mind was, "If you don't eat meat or dairy, what's left to eat!?" I thought it was crazy and I wondered, "Where are you supposed to get your protein?"

At the time, a friend gave me a little pamphlet called "Why Vegan?" (Vegan Outreach, www.veganoutreach.com) I read it, and Wow! Was I convinced how horrible everything was. I didn't see how anyone could read that and continue to eat meat!

I remember the last thing I ate before becoming vegan was three pieces of pepperoni pizza. The next morning, I woke up and started my life as a vegan. I think of it as "going vegan cold turkey." I'm sure my parents just thought it was a phase I was going through, much like my "crazy hair" phase and my piercing phase, both of which I still have not "out grown." My mom was helpful. She helped pay for whatever food I couldn't afford. At 16, I dropped out of school and was working full time. Then, I was able to afford some stuff at Whole Foods Market.

It was difficult the first year. Being such a "baby vegan," I didn't know what half the ingredients were; which were vegan and which were not? I was aware of whey and lactose but I'd often buy vegetarian cheeses thinking they were also vegan. I didn't realize it just meant "rennet-free" and I had no idea what casein was.

I new the basics, I guess. I new eggs were pure evil, yet, being a cookie lover, I found them hard to avoid. They seemed to be in all the top brand cookies. Later, I found that a lot of the off-brand cookies, as well as some store brand cookies like Albertson's and Kroger's, are vegan. A book that helped me out also was "The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook". Almost 5 years later, I'm still learning and now, I'm passing along my knowledge of veganism, environment and health to my little vegan.

--Misty is 20 now, with a veggie child, and living in Texas.