Lily has been a dedicated member of the EvG Apprentice Program since spring 2013. I've had the lovely opportunity to spend time with her in Los Angeles and she is such a joy - I am blown away by her knowledge and dedication to the vegan movement. Reading her story was so enlightening - I loved hearing about her journey and her childhood and I hope you find it equally as inspirational:
My name is Lily, I'm 26 years old and I live in Los Angeles, CA with my two cats Daisy & Juniper. I'm the founder & author of www.greenlilies.com, a vegan/green lifestyle blog dedicated to inspiring everyday people to adapt a more natural way of living. I'm also graphic artist (www.lilytrahandesign.com) and I work full-time for peta2, the youth division of People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals as a social media strategist.
I was raised in a household where my mother cooked everything from scratch, grew 90% of the produce we ate in our backyard & always relied on holistic alternatives for our health instead of conventional drugs. She also trained me to minimize waste, the use of electricity, etc. so many of my desires to reduce my carbon footprint stem from my upbringing. In high school I flirted with the idea of becoming a vegetarian (but was really a pescetarian) as I knew meat was not very healthy. Although when I first learned about the term "vegan" meant at the age of 15 I thought the concept was downright crazy and impossible.
It wasn't until about 4.5 years ago that I met a vegan for the first time in real life (I grew up in Colorado where I hardly knew any veggies at all.) We had a nice dialogue about her journey and all of the benefits so I decided to give it a go strictly for health reasons. I had nothing against animal rights activists but just never really felt or understood the empathy they had for other beings. "The Kind Diet" by Alicia Silverstone became my guide, but for some reason I still missed the memo on the way animals were raised. I did see many improvements in my health though! Suddenly so many things I just accepted over the years as "normal" such as skin problems, digestion issues, gas, insomnia, congestion, excess fatigue, headaches, etc. all diminished over time.
From that point on I ate a mostly-plant based diet, until 2012 when I finally saw the truth about how animals are treated and finally understood that there's really no "humane" way of killing someone. It doesn't matter if they're a human or a cat, cow, rabbit, etc. we are all sentient beings, we all have same capacity to feel love & pain and we all have the desire to live in peace. I also had this sudden realization that if I'm in the position where I'm able choose what food I want to eat everyday, then I should choose the option that not only benefits myself but other living creatures as well. That was when I declared myself as an actual vegan and knew that I was no longer doing this for myself, but for the planet and for the billions of voiceless animals who have the right to be happy too.
Blogging and activism have been some of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I encourage everyone to join in on the fun. On another note- I hope to write my own Korean vegan cookbook very soon!
Lily's favorite Eco-Vegan Gal video: "Eco-Vegan Gal has been such an amazing resource for me and my lifestyle - I really recommend the website & Youtube channel to anyone who's seeking to adapt healthier habits the right way. I especially like Whitney's video "Learning How To Lose Weight & Love the Body In a Healthy Way" because it addresses how diets are very skewed in our society, particularly for women."
Follow Lily's journey:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Green_lilies
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grnlilies
- Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/grnlilies/
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/green_lilies
