Q: When did you decide to become vegan and why?
A: I became vegan in 8th grade after I decided to try a vegan/gluten-free diet out for a month. I’d been feeling sort of off lately and had been contemplating giving up meat. After a month of veganism I felt amazing – super energetic, lively and lean. However, I wanted a Panera bread sandwich, so I texted my dad, “Yo, the month is up, can you get me a Panera bread sandwich?” But he never did so I just kind of stayed vegan.

Q: What does veganism mean to you?
A: To me, veganism is the belief in equality and compassion for all animals. Veganism is the practice of living a kind and conscientious life. Veganism is the practice of peace and nonviolence between the self, the earth, and all other beings. Essentially, veganism is not a diet, rather a lifestyle.

Q: Would you ever go back to being non-vegan?
A: I would never go back to being non-vegan. The confidence I have in my lifestyle has been immensely strengthened. Sure veganism is often means to a better body, nicer skin, thicker hair, but it’s so much more than that. Veganism, practiced as a lifestyle rather than a diet, has the power to change you within. Since being vegan I’ve experienced increased energy, but more than that, increased mental health. My self confidence has soared, my kindness expanded, and my mind broadened. But even these radical effects on the self are minor compared to the bigger picture. Being a vegan is colossal in ways that we often forget. As a vegan, I’ve saved the lives of hundreds of cows and pigs and chickens, but if you don’t believe that, lets say I have saved the life of just one cow or pig or chicken. The value of even just one pig, one animal, one life is priceless. I believe that the lives of all animals are of equal value, therefore I have saved at least one life just like my own. I have saved the life of someone’s mother, brother, or sister. I have made a huge difference. And that’s a feeling that I would never want to give up. I would never go back to being non-vegan because I’m an environmentalist. The environmental destruction caused by animal agriculture is incredibly larger than all other causes of environmental destruction combined. By choosing not to support that industry, I choose to preserve the earth, demonstrating compassion for yet another form of life.

Q: What does yoga mean to you?
A: I believe one of the most amazing things about yoga is it’s versatility of interpretation. Yoga is a multi-dimensional practice, philosophy and lifestyle. Yoga means a different thing to each person, and an infinity of things to each yogi. To me, yoga simply means love. Yoga means self-love, as evident in the practice of the self, to the self, for the self. Yoga means the love of others, as evident in the practice of compassion and patience toward others. And yoga means universal-love, as evident in the practice of love for the self in which the universe lies. To me, yoga is the practice of compassion, dedication, and love. What begins as a physical practice transforms the mind and becomes a philosophy, which in turn demands to be taken away from the mat and practiced as a lifestyle.