I've always been a firm believer in Equality for all. My heart especially yearns to fight for the sections that are weaker and unprivileged. One day, I came across an Instagram post that mentioned: 'You cannot believe in Equality and still consume milk.'
As a vegetarian who took pride in being one, this came as a little shock to me. I looked for all possibilities. This can't be true. But very soon, I figured myself to be wrong. All this while, my temptations revolved around cheese, milk, and whatnot?
I wasn't aware I was eating up exploitation on my plate every single day. That was the day I decided I would transition to being vegan, for the innocent creatures who've equal rights to live as much as we do.
The journey has been no less than a roller coaster. Not to forget, I have been a religious consumer of dairy since my childhood. Leaving it all at once was a tough choice for me. I took help from a few videos on Youtube. I started by completely excluding cheese from my diet, then slowly moved on to removing buttermilk, ghee, ice cream and finally the milk.
Once I went to a dairy vigil while I was still transitioning to being vegan. I was already aware of the exploitation and abuse the animals went through. But somehow, I would still crave something sweet, that obviously wasn't vegan. When I went to the dairy farm, seeing innocent creatures tied with a rope shorter to even move around a foot, I was taken aback with pain and sorrow. I felt this piercing in my heart where I couldn't do anything but just feel. I rolled a tear or two and soon realised it was nothing beyond the atrocities these animals have to go through every single day for my cup of tea.
We often hear people saying, We won't make any difference, but until every animal is free is what we rule by.
I struggle with social anxiety which often pulls me back from participating in social outreaches and activism, but I make sure I don't miss the opportunity to speak directly when it comes to making my friends, family, and colleagues aware of the same.
I've started feeling a sense of responsibility to speak for the voiceless. I'm learning about ways to speak for them every single day.
Hello everyone! I'm Soumya Sanghvi, currently pursuing a Bachelor's in psychology. I'm also a content and copywriter and my hobbies include singing, writing, reading and in general learning.