My Vegan Story | Liz Garrett

Since I was a young child, I remember feeling a sense of compassion and empathy for others, and a desire to help. I was very passionately against injustice and discrimination, and often felt a desire to advocate for those whom I’d felt did not have a voice. It was these values and beliefs that drew me to Social Work. It seemed the perfect career for someone who naturally felt a desire to fight against injustice and to show empathy for individuals. I began my studies at Syracuse University after transferring from a community college in 2004.

It was not until after completing my Master’s Degree in 2007 and working at my first Social Work job that I began to even consider extending my sense of compassion to non-human animals. My family had many pets growing up, including several cats and a golden retriever whom I had loved and lost, but I hadn’t really put much thought to other animals. When I was about 25 years old, I had a few friends who are vegan, one of whom had attended the social work program at Syracuse University with me. I had spoken with him a few times about veganism, and had already cut out meat just to see if I could eat a vegetarian diet. And then for no particular reason other than boredom, I did an Internet search asking the simple question, “Why do people go vegan?” What I read and saw in photographs just from this quick search on google.com literally turned me vegan overnight. As soon as I saw how the animals at factory farms were treated and killed, I knew I could never again consume or use any animal products.

My quick transition to veganism was over 10 years ago, and I haven’t looked back since. I feel so grateful that I am a naturally empathic person, as I think this helped me to make a change that honestly hasn’t felt that difficult, but I know it is a transition that can be very difficult for many. One of the other things that I believe has been very helpful to me in beginning and maintaining a vegan lifestyle is that I have sought out connections with other vegans. Somehow I knew that having that social support during this transition would be so helpful, so I immediately joined a local animal rights group. Throughout the years, I have continued to join various groups including animal rights groups, vegan meetups, potlucks, veg fests, and so on.

Despite all of my social connections, as well as my compassion and empathy for other human beings and non-human animals, I still seemed to somehow not value my own health very much. I frequently ate fried and processed foods and soda, and I maintained my habit of smoking cigarettes. In the last 3 years, following an uncle’s death due to complications from COPD and various other health problems which were largely the result of lifestyle choices, I began to transition to a more healthy vegan lifestyle. I quit smoking, began running and exercising regularly, and began to eat a more whole-foods plant-based lifestyle. It was in this journey to also focus on my own health that I extended that compassion (finally) to myself. And it wasn’t just about my physical health, though I’m sure it did improve greatly. It was also my mental and emotional health. I suddenly had tons of energy, and felt more grounded and confident in myself.

This increase in energy, combined with my compassion for animals, my desire to continue to connect with others, and my newly gained enthusiasm for healthy lifestyles, led to my desire to start a local No Meat Athlete running group in 2016 after I began running. I was motivated to do this as I, again, saw the great benefit in getting together and running with other vegans, as well as people interested in transitioning to veganism. I then organized my local chapter of the Vegan Lady Gang, which is a social group for vegan women, to offer a forum for support and connection. And most recently, I started my own health coaching business, focusing on helping individuals wanting to become more healthy, balanced, and confident with a plant-based lifestyle. I also have continued to pursue my original passion to help people, as I continue to work as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at a local outpatient mental health clinic.

In the end, I feel I have combined both my empathy and compassion for animals with my connection to and desire to help people as well. I look forward to continuing to expand my community by connecting and collaborating with people interested in transitioning to veganism for the animals or for their health, helping vegans become healthier, and continuing to plan events to provide opportunities for like-minded people to continue to connect and feel included as a part of my local compassionate community.