As time went on and I took part in more and more email lists, posted on message boards, and read books about vegetarianism, I felt a pull toward the vegan lifestyle. I started listening to the animal rights arguments that I used to ignore, and they made sense to me. I grew to believe that killing another living being was wrong, and I started to think about my own diet and lifestyle.

I gave up dairy products a few months later and began to look at my wardrobe. What should I do? Throw out all my leather shoes and belts? Donate my fur-lined boots to the homeless? It all seemed pretty overwhelming and wasteful to me, so I started by simply promising myself never to buy another piece of clothing made from animals. Then I went through my closet.

The hardest thing was deciding what to do with my Birkenstocks. But I'd sworn off leather, and I didn't need them - I just wanted them. I had worn the same pair of Birks for years (my parents are sort of hippies), even asking my mom to have them re-soled for me once when they wore out. It was hard to let them go, but because I had lots of other shoes, I gave them to a woman we knew who was really in need. That felt good…and it made it a little easier knowing they were going to a good cause.

Then there were my belts and my purse. I only had one leather purse, so I used it for a few more months (till I got tired of answering questions about why I was veg but carried a leather purse) then donated it to charity. For Christmas that year I asked my parents for money to buy some really cool non-leather belts and shoes. I must say, it felt good to finally be "clean."

And my Birks? Well, I discovered Tevas, and I'll never go back!

Florie is a college freshman at Oklahoma State University.