I know that many people don't make New Year's Resolutions, for the very simple and good reason that, if you want to make changes in your life, you shouldn't wait for a certain date - you should just do it. But being the slightly overdramatic type of person I am, I like to have a certain amount of ritual around things, so as it is coming up to New Year anyway, I thought I would configure some upcoming changes I would like to make to my life with the changing of the year.
In 2012, I feel I have already been through some changes as a person. Nothing huge or groundbreaking; just small-but-important adjustments to how I see myself and how I relate to the world around me. These small changes are the foundation for most of the resolutions I am looking forward to putting into practise in the year ahead.
This is probably the most drastic of the changes I want to make. This year I have been trying to be less focused on myself and to spend more time thinking outwards, which has led to a whole waterfall of new views and outlooks, running an entire gamut from feminism to spirituality, environmentalism, random acts of kindness, body positivity and a whole load of things I had taken for granted and never really paid attention to.
As I hunted through the interwebs and the library to try to understand and put into perspective all the new-to-me things I was learning about, I decided to take some steps towards a more eco-friendly, cruelty-free lifestyle. And as I was researching this, I discovered veganism. Obviously I'd heard of it before, but I had never taken it seriously as a lifestyle choice -
clearly too extreme, too unhealthy, too limiting to be a viable prospect for a growing woman needing a supportive and healthy diet.
I was thinking about becoming a vegetarian; partly because of the green issues with meat farming and partly because of the horrendous conditions endured by animals bred for slaughter. But on
PETA's website [tangent: I have discovered in my research that PETA are not tremendously popular amongst the vegan crowd due to their sexist advertisements and overly-aggressive tactics, but they were the first resource I found when I began looking into veganism] I began to discover that dairy produce and eggs were subject to similiar ethical concerns.
So I looked further into veganism, and to my surprise I found that actually, a good vegan diet is not only incredibly good for you (vegans are, apparently, proven to live longer and have more energy) but boasts an enormous variety of recipes and is not at all as 'extreme' as I was originally led to believe.
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| I don't have a relevant picture, so here is a photo of me and my cat. I feel this is a perfectly acceptable substitute. |
I am using the time between now and January 1st to ease my way into a vegan lifestyle, using up the meat and dairy products I have left in the house (I am on a very tight budget; waste is a no-no) and beginning to replace household products and cosmetics with vegan alternatives. I have just done this week's food shop and am proud to say I bought no animal products whatsoever - for exactly the same amount of money as my usual weekly grocery run.
I have really fallen out of the habit of fiction writing; with six (awful) vanity-published novels to my name, I'd love to get back on board and get back in the swing of gloriously cheesy pulp fiction tomes.
Imagine what I could do with all that free time in the morning. I could sew. I could write. I could go for a calming stroll in the spring sunshine. I could actually eat breakfast for once.
In all aspects of life. No more hoarding. No more buying stuff I don't need, don't use and really only 'liked' because it was there when I wanted to blow some cash and get my spending fix. Also no more hiding bank statements in the cupboard without opening them. No more letting paperwork stack up. I will be buying a Filofax... and I'm not afraid to use it.
- Stop buying clothing from chain stores.
Perhaps this is a resolution I could have done with making in my Gothier days. No mass-produced, boring, sweatshop crap. At least if I buy my mass-produced sweatshop crap from charity shops (I'm also giving the OK to buying handmade, organic, FairTrade and vintage) I know my money is doing some good.
- Keep a book journal.
- Go abroad.
I've never been abroad. Ever. Unless Wales counts. Even then, that was a decade ago.
I have a body. Bodies like moving.
Are you making any New Year's Resolutions? What, and why (or why not)?
Good for you! Reevaluating your world should lead to little changes. I'm going to make some resolutions, pretty much for the same reasons you are. Living life means making change a part of every day! And we share some resolutions! I'm trying to get myself to exercise more, and get up earlier, and I've also been contemplating veganism. I've been vegetarian for seven years now, but its only just come to my attention that animal bi-product industries can be just as cruel as ones geared towards slaughter. I just...don't know...if I can give...up...CHEESE! I LOVE CHEESE! But eggs and milk could probably go. Although I'd miss chocolate. And I also hate to heap another food plan on my family as my dad, who eats meat, already cooks vegetarian for me and my sisters, and gluten free for my older sister. I think the key is taking it slow. I wish you the best of luck in your new goals for yourself!
ReplyDeleteWhat about Sheese and other dairy replacement products? Lots of them are vegan. It's a good choice for me, I think, as cheese and dairy are huge triggers for my migraines, so dairy-free cheese subsitute seems like a much better option!
DeleteI just ate a bar of vegan chocolate and shared it around with my friends - none of them could tell the difference. It might be worth trying a few different brands (in the name of research, of course!) to find the most chocolate-y chocolate substitute. ;-)
Good luck to you also!
Depending on where you live (I'm in the US, so I don't know about other nations), you my be able to find organic markets that sell dairy that comes from small, private farms that have policies that are much different from that of mass-production farms. Farmer's Markets are a great option, as well.
DeleteI'm an omnivore, but I also feel the food that comes from these sources is likely to be "cleaner", with less chance of bacterial contamination, as the animals are free-range & not pent up in crowded cages. Animals also don't receive injections of any sort to produce more food. You may have to do research, though, to find out *exactly* what any particular supplier/farm does.
I do applaud both of you for your commitment, though; I just feel like such a hypocrite whenever I wear leather, so I haven't made the complete switch from meat (although I rarely eat it anyway, as a matter of taste).
Oh indeed, not buying from chain stores wasted so much of my money in the past. Especially gothic stores are quite pricey! I am mostly second hand shopping these days, but also trying to support artistic people (when I have the money) on Etsy, and learn to make my own clothes!
ReplyDeleteI often wish I had started a book journal at a younger age, I am sure there are so many amazing books I have forgotten I read, and that makes me sad. I managed to recall a lot of them once I joined goodreads but I know there are so many I still don't remember. Goodreads is my online reading journal now, I sure hope it never crashes. (touchwood.)
You are lucky to live in Europe though, where everywhere is so close! I long to go back to Europe, plane fares from Australia are like $1000 each on a good day.
Try zumba, the music is cheesy, as are the dance moves, but it's really fun. If you do it in a group you can see everyone being as uncoordinated as you and laugh together.
Yes, I have to write my novel next year too. After exploring so many genres and styles, I have settled on steampunk, I have the plot and the world, now I just have to settle down to writing.
I need to get up earlier too. I got into a habit of getting up late, now days seem so long when I get up early. I need to keep getting up early!
Yes, you have to stay 'de-junked', it is so hard, of course. I used to ask myself if buying a certain dress would make my life better. Then I would just say yes it would and buy it. Don't do that, it's not true :P
Good luck with your resolutions!
I have done zumba, it's such a great laugh! I once found myself roped into a public demonstration but I was very unprepared; wearing a velvet medieval dress and stompy Gawth boots.... >.<
DeleteNote to self: clothing does not improve quality of life!
Thank you, and best of luck to you to - have fun writing your novel. ^^
Veganism. After a while, you don't notice a change. One thing you will notice is that you will find so many more foods that you never knew existed, even though people will constantly ask you what you eat. I just say carrots because I'm too lazy to explain that it is QUINOA in my stir fry, not rice. Maybe it won't be as drastic for you as you're older (I was twelve), but I guarantee it will open up your "taste palate" more than you would expect. All this is secondary, you also get to feel self righteous about saving the planet, preventing needless suffering and attempting to better yourself. So, good luck!
ReplyDeleteI loooove quinoa. I did buy a vegan cookbook yesterday and I was like, aubergine? You think I know what to do with an aubergine? And what in hell is tempeh?! So already my food repertoire is growing! ;-)
DeleteI do enjoy feeling self-righteous, also. XD Thank you!
It's actually really interesting to read your blog here, I am going trough the exact same thing right now ... Much khaos, but necessary.
ReplyDeleteThe chaos does pass... eventually!
Deleteamy ,could you possibly write further about vegeterianism and cruelty free products?I would like to know about them but unfortunately i dont know where to start from?Is there any book which can help me to discover vegeterianism?
ReplyDeleteI would be happy to! It's something new to me also, I'm no expert, but I will definitely try to provide any information I can. Probably some of the other committed vegetarians/vegans commenting here can offer better guidance than I can, but I did turn up this book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Vegan-Girls-Guide-Life/dp/1616080922/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2R257X5BWOV91&coliid=I2VFAYSR78LZFP#_
DeleteGreat New Year's Resolutions :D and good luck with them!
ReplyDeleteSo far I have decided to go with these:
Cut down on my facebook time..
Comment on blogs more.
Get rid of my sugar addiction
Eat more vegetarian food. *inspired by you* :'D
Thank you! Best of luck to you as well!
DeleteCutting down on Facebook time is a good idea, as is commenting more on blogs... I am terrible at that, I just lurk about and admire in silence. >.<
I have to say, going vegetarian was one of the best things I ever did. I've also been contemplating going vegan but decided (for my parents' sanity) to wait until I move out. I cook for myself anyway so the majority is vegan :)
ReplyDeleteI see where you're coming from - if I didn't cook for myself it would be a thousand times harder for me to go vegan. I still live at home but have only recently started doing my grocery shopping separately.
DeleteGood luck with your goals :)
ReplyDeleteVeganisim is hard at first but once you get past the first few weeks it's really easy to stick too :)
I don't do resolutions, I do challenges, it just seems more positive my next challenge is to teach myself to do a handstand.
Thank you! :-)
DeleteThat is a GREAT challenge, I think I may join you on that one! Also, I implore you to provide photos. ;-)
amy could yoy possibly post abou vegeterianism and cruelty free products?are there any books about vegeterianism?
ReplyDeleteThis post makes me so happy I want to cry. Even though overall I'm depressed. It makes me want to live.
ReplyDeleteI've been vegan since about 4 years ago. Best decision in my life. Literally.
Only five minutes ago, my resolution would be to hide my emotions and abandon all hope. After reading this post, I'm not so sure anymore.
Oh, thank you! <3
DeleteI wish you the best of luck and every happiness for the new year.
Hey there
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've formally greeted this blog yet, so hello Amy's new blog <3
Just wanted to say your new goals sound amazingly productive and indeed quite achievable. What I particularly want to chat about it your decision to go vegan. I find that an admirable choice and very responsible; especially for someone who is going directly from an omnivorous diet to a cruelty-free one. I'm [mostly] vegan myself -- I am pretty much pure vegan when at home, in baking and cooking etc. My exceptions are chocolate and very occasionally honey. But I am flexible when it comes to being with friends and eating out.
[a brief tangent to explain my hypocrisy: I choose the vegan option first but at times it's not possible, as when I was on a 7hr plane ride once and the only thing they had was spinach and feta pie. Also in a situation where I'm staying at the home of someone who may not be prepared for a fussy human, I humbly accept potato bake made with milk. It is polite.]
Anyway, if you have any questions or want my killer customised recipes for the best cookies/brownies you'll EVER taste, do please PM me on tumblr or I can email you =)
As for resolutions, I'm also trying to be more active and do so in the MORNING -- used to do crunches in the evening but making my routine longer forces me to move it earlier in the day, which in turn compels me to be showered and changed and ready to face the day before 1pm.
I've recently discovered this youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/blogilates?feature=watch , which has the most awesome workouts all for freeeee. So that has been helping. I have also committed to eating more raw foods and less peanut butter (my weakness). Additionally I'm aiming to be more muscular, which means more legumes in my life.
Good luck for your new goals!
Hello, my lovely! :-)
DeleteThank you very much! I have also wondered about etiquette vs. ethics when eating with friends, but my nearest and dearest have been very understanding and probably wouldn't bat an eyelid if I rocked up with my own carton of almond milk to put in my tea. Jo, who cooks for my group of friends most frequently, just asked me to let her know in advance what I can and can't eat.
Best of luck with your resolutions! Thanks a mil for the link, and yes, I would very much like that brownie recipe! Fancy a guest post? ;-D
Glad to have assisted even slightly in the pursuit of wellness. And a guest post would be an honour <3 Enjoy your day =)
DeleteI sew as my main hobby and only source of new clothing (undergarments excluded, also the occasional nerdy t-shirt), but strangely, as I have learned more and more about how to sew properly, in a way that fits and will last, I have also become a big old chicken about starting new projects that have the possibility of not working right first try around. So my resolution (and normally I make these on Halloween, because, well why not? but this year I forgot) is to get over it and just try. The worst that can happen is something turns out dreadful and has to be re-purposed into quilt blocks, it's not the end of the world if I mess it up, and think of all that could be learned from fixing mistakes!
ReplyDeleteYou can totally be a healthy vegan :). As a lifelong vegetarian, my two cents is that any diet can be either healthy or not, depending on how you go about it (although sometimes it takes more research than others). People are always saying "you're a vegetarian, that must be so good for you", and I generally point out that it could be, but I eat a lot of cake, haha. Do whatever you can feel good about at the end of the day, and make it work for you.
I've been enjoying looking at all your sewing projects on your blog and it has inspired me to get back into DIY-ing myself. Best of luck to you! ^^
DeleteI agree; a poor diet is a poor diet, whether or not you eat meat, dairy or anything else. I do try to eat healthily but I have a huuuuge weakness for sugar! :-)
I went vegan last year. Best. Decision. Ever. I used to suffer badly from anemia and a lot of other ailments so I never had much energy...Nowadays I think I get bursts of too much energy xD
ReplyDeleteWoohoo! :-D
DeleteGood luck with the vegan thing. I do agree there is a lot of cruelty in the meat and dairy industry. I became Piscatarian at a fairly young age because of this.
ReplyDeleteI did think about going vegan for a week one time, just to see if I could, but I don't think I could keep it up. So I hope you do.
May I also recommend the book 'Eating Animals' by Jonathon Safran Foer for an unbiased look at both sides of the argument, his research is all based in America but most of it applies here too.
Thanks! And thank you very much for the recommendation also, I will definitely check it out. :-)
Deleteyh i am, join a social group in something (amdram or choir or martial arts anything really) although that one is my dads request and also to attempt to motivate myself long enough to finish this course in btec level 3 national diploma travel and tourism my last year
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you!
DeleteHi Amy! first i would like to say that i find your outlook on life so refreshing! I loved your old blog and read it religiously as i was taking my first steps in alternative fashion. I have to say, though, i like this one better. When you first said that you might be creating a new blog and moving away from the gothy stuff i was shocked- but after having heard your reasons i find it utterly liberating! I love how the content of this blog focusses more on being happy with who YOU are, rather than constantly having to please other people and conform to stereotypes. I have recently been feeling as though i am stuck in a rut as i am currently doing my A-Levels and do not seem to have much time to appreciate the world around me and how wonderful life is.Your blog has helped teach me that life is too short to just drift along pointlessly, and i hope to begin to embrace life and do things that make me as a person feel alive! (cheesy as hell but who cares?!) and i hope to write my own blog post on this soon.
ReplyDeleteI am also hoping to keep a diary, do more reading and spend more time outside!
Thankyou so much for writing!
(P.s I am also hoping to get some little baby dreads as soon as my hair is long enough!)
Hello :-D
DeleteThank you very much! That is certainly a pleasant surprise, especially as I wasn't sure anyone would even READ this blog! >.< I am absolutely honoured! <3
(A secret I am learning: the cheesier it sounds, the truer it probably is...)
Dreads are fun! Go for it ;-)
This was really interesting to read! When I was in primary school I was a vegetarian for around 3 years, then I went to secondary school and got peer pressured out of it...pathetic I know, but I was only eleven so that's my excuse haha. I have recently gone back to a vegetarian diet and felt a lot better for it the only thing that makes me wary of being a vegan is my severe nut allergy which I discovered I had last year. I have to check the packets of everything it's so annoying, also nuts are a good source of protein and still having eggs (only free range of course) and dairy means I keep my protein levels up! That being said I may slowly ease my self into veganism as its a great lifestyle choice. I decided to give vegetarianism another go after watching the documentary "earthlings" on YouTube it's horrific to see, but extremely eye opening. It's great that you are choosing cruelty free cosmetics too, that's something that I really should get wised up on!
ReplyDeleteGosh, definitely no nut roasts for you then! Good for you for taking care of your health <3
DeleteI love your blog Amy! I have been vegan for years. I just wanted to offer a tip: go slow if you think that you need to. I made the mistake (for me) of going from vegetarian to vegan way too soon. I didn’t know enough about vegan staples and how to plan/decide your meals. This caused way too many nonvegan slip-ups that I could’ve prevented. But similar to Alli, I was in my early teens. I agree with the commenters who said it gets so much easier with practice. Best wishes to you!
ReplyDelete(Sorry that I don't have a blog or site to link to)
Those are some really nice new year's resolutions! Good luck with achieving them ^^ I still have to think of some for myself. Perhaps I'll only think of some when it's already 2013, just like this year XD
ReplyDeleteHi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI found you and both of your blogs quite recenty, and I'm very excited to see what you may post in the coming year :) These resolutions sound wonderful, and definitely achievable!
I admire your decision to switch to a vegan lifestyle. Health problems and living conditions (ie. I'm only 17 and just eat what's fed to me xD) prevent me from changing my eating habits too drastically, but my family and I have started to grow our own fruit and vegetables, and plan on buying some chickens to have living free-range in our backyard. We'd also love to buy our own farm, cows, goats, the whole shebang - but we haven't won the lotto just yet :)
After reading your resolutions, I decided to write up my own list of 'achievements' to work towards next year, including the following: getting a new job, starting a blog, learning to sew, saving money for a car (and a tattoo, and a trip to England), getting my license, donating blood at every opportunity, signing up to be a bone marrow donor and to get back into writing in my spare time.
I wish you the best of luck with your resolutions, and happy new year!
I'm excited about your FILOFAX! I got my first one a little over a year ago and my second one last month. I hope you do some filofax posts! Good luck with all your positive plans! Happy 2013!
ReplyDeleteHi, I have a blog intended to help out new vegans, feel free to check it out - it should be linked from my name on this post. I always liked (not always in the sense of agreeing with) the gothy posts on your other blog, and am finding your de-gothification interesting to watch. I don't goth up every day and haven't for a while, but consider myself more a goth-in-mufti than anything else. Kind of miss being part of a goth scene, but my current home town doesn't have one :(
ReplyDelete