Bowl full of nut, oat, and seed varieties.Growing up, I have always had an interest in the planet and ways to help it. During the summer of eighth grade, I was scrolling through YouTube and randomly came across a video by a channel named Freelee the Banana Girl. At the time, Freelee was a viral vegan that was popular for her videos promoting rawtill4 diets and making videos criticizing the diets of other fellow influencers. I eventually went down a rabbit hole as I never heard about veganism nor raw diets and began spending a lot of time on the vegan side of YouTube. Me being a child that struggled with weight issues and some health issues such as eczema and migraines, the vegan diet seemed like a way out. All the videos I watched made it appear that the vegan diet was an exit ticket to many health issues. In hindsight, thinking that I was going to become a vegan sounded extremely unlikely. I was obsessed with eating meat and exploring new foods, used to have four glasses of milk a day, and came from a culture in which animal based products were a heavy staple.

One night at a family dinner in which we all gathered around a platter of traditional Jordanian cuisine consisting of meat and yogurt, I announced to the family that I was going to attempt to go pescetarian. At the time, that itself was a big shift for me as I regularly consumed animal products. Everybody at the dining table shrugged and didn’t think it was going to last as everyone knew my love for animal based foods. I began my journey of pescetarianism, and about two weeks in I became confident enough to do the switch to vegetarianism. I remained a vegetarian for a year but did not see the full benefits of eating a plant based diet. Looking back now, I would mainly attribute that to myself compensating from the lack of animal proteins by focusing on my consumption of dairy and eggs, which became a staple of my diet. Throughout the year, my interest in the vegan diet persisted. I did a lot of research on more of a scientific level to find out if this diet had the potential to truly do good. Throughout this journey, the implications of animal based diets on my health and the planet became very evident. Furthermore, I frequented trips to the animal shelter in Dubai which had many rescues from cattle processing plants. This was the time the light bulb went off in my head. I did not just want to go vegan for my health, but for the animals and the planet as well.

Around my one mark of vegetarianism, I made the switch to a vegan diet which did not come easy. Here the challenge arose of making many mistakes, learning different animal based chemicals in food, or discovering things such as Mcdonald’s fries were not vegan. In addition to the mistakes that were made, a social change was on the rise. I felt as though I was a burden as every time my friends and I wanted to go out, accommodations would always have to be made for me. At such a young age, people did not understand why I was doing this, and I was often made fun of. I stood my ground as I knew that what I was doing had a bigger impact than my social life. I was excited to start seeing my health issues reverse as I anticipated and was anxiously waiting for the results. As the first year passed by, there was little to no change, my eczema was the same, and I was gaining more weight which began causing future health issues. I was surprised and confused as to why this was happening. I had to sit down with myself and understand what was not working. As I started further researching what could be wrong, I came to a realization. I was barely eating any whole foods, fruits, and vegetables. I was so focused on eating processed foods, vegan cheeses, and fake meats, which were okay to eat, but I was neglecting my body’s need for nutrients from whole foods.

As time passed by, I began to incorporate more wholesome foods into my diet. I became infatuated with exploring how vegetables, nuts, and fruits have endless combinations and can create some even better tasting meals and alternatives. With trial and error, I finally found the dishes I like. As years passed by, I continued to do work with the environment and animals. My passion led me to animal rescue work and vegan awareness through my food social media channel, so much so that I was awarded PETA’s compassionate teen of the year. This was around the same time I started seeing the results of this plant based diet. My eczema was almost completely gone, and I lost what was gained which in turn reversed my adverse health issues. I finally understood what all the popularity surrounding this lifestyle was. It created positive change for me, the world, and the animals.

It has been 8 years since this change, and it has been one of the best choices I have ever made. I have created forward movement with my own health, knowingly making a change in the environment, educating others about the importance of a sustainable diet, and rescuing animals in need. This journey has helped me find one of my many purposes in life along with a renewed outlook on the world and how individuals are capable of great change. Power is not just in the hands of those who rule over us; it is our responsibility as global citizens to act up and create the change we need to see.