Looking Back on 21

Today marks the last of an exciting 365 days traveling around the sun.

When I look back at the past year, I feel pleased with accomplishments in my relationships, my academics, and my personal growth.

In short:

• I have spent a great deal of time on introspection regarding my personal life, my future professional life, and my values at this time in my life in an effort to guide myself in a direction after graduation. It has not led me to an answer so far, but it has led me to speak with new people and form new friendships and think in new ways as a result of my willingness to reach out and do one thing that I love - connecting with others.
• My health has continued to be a focus as I fluctuate in exercise motivation, green smoothie inspiration, and periods of moderate sleep deprivation. While I am not always in a physically balanced place, I have been thoughtful about my health a great deal and have enjoyed engaging with it in different ways.
• For almost one entire year I maintained a long-distance friendship! I think this resulted from the point in my life that G made her way across the globe - I've reached a point of personal development where I could manage that sort of geographical distance in a relationship.
• Opportunities to step outside of my comfort zone presented themselves, then disappeared, then were taken up and taken away, and eventually left me living away from home (if only a short distance) for the first time this summer, and I feel that decision has made me appreciate home in a new way while also offering me an unforgettable summer so far. My new job and new friends (along with a handful of oldies) are a big part of that. Dancing like my life depends on it every couple of weeks has also been surprisingly rejuvenating.
• My new studies in gender, race, sexuality and social justice at school have refined and informed many values and passions I had before but did not have words or literature to use in tandem with them. While it has been challenging at times, I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to partake in aspects of the GRSJ culture at my school and using that education to inform other parts of my life that I feel are bettered as a result.
• I lost two figures in my life that are incredibly painful to be without now, but I'm glad they went together and that whatever discomforts they were experiencing are gone now. They are missed immensely, but the sadness I feel reminds me that I do feel, and that these lows will contrast future highs and make them all the better.

I think that 22 will be an incredibly confusing, exciting, terrifying, and fulfilling trip around the sun. Even if it has the lowest of lows, I also believe it will have some of the highest highs, and I am looking forward to seeing what they all are.

Late-Spring Sunset

Being Cognizant: Vegetarianism

A series about the ways I work towards being cognizant through decisions that make me more mentally engaged with various facets of my day-to-day life.


Cognizance (noun): Awareness, realization, notice, knowledge, perception.

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3 years and 3 months ago, I embarked on a 3-week challenge to stop eating meat. It began because someone told me I "looked like a vegetarian", which led to a discussion, which led to an agreement to try vegetarianism for a little while, which led to today where I remain a vegetarian.

These past three (and some) years have been a learning experience for me that I have embraced despite personal struggles with the change in lifestyle and diet, as well as the frequent encouragement from friends, family, and near-strangers to return to omnivorous ways. It has not always been easy, but I have certainly become more considerate of my eating and lifestyle as a result of this change I made three years ago.

When I became a vegetarian, I was in the midst of my first year of university and decided to embark on a fitness journey within months of changing my diet - all of these transitions occurring at the same time led to a few setbacks that forced me to think about things I had taken for granted. For example, my energy levels dropped a few months into my new diet, and my exercise continued to increase in vigor and frequency. With these changes in mind, I was faced with figuring out new ways to acquire certain nutrients in my diet to (a) replace the easily-acquired nutrients from meat I had taken for granted and to (b) be sufficient enough for my muscles to recover from intense exercise. I found many new foods (especially in nuts, beans, and many vegetables) that offered me the nutrients I needed that I had never considered necessary, or even delicious, before! It was a great opportunity to try new foods and learn about my body's needs when it comes to nutrients and exercise.

Beyond these health-related ideas I have come to consider regularly, I have also grown to be more selective with the food I buy, particularly when it comes to eggs, which I still eat. I make an effort to purchase food that is ethically-sourced, and perhaps even locally-sourced, as I know I am supporting people that live in my communities by doing so (see my list of Farmer's Markets!). Without realizing it, this lifestyle aligned with my feminist ideals in that I was caring about non-human animals' well-being and fair treatment as well as making efforts to not support unethical business practices that are exploitative and even dangerous.. Building upon that, I now (usually - I'm still growing) resist the urge to buy inexpensive clothing or goods from stores or brands that I know are not sourcing their products ethically. Vegetarianism has cleansed me of more things than I had anticipated when I began my journey!

Through vegetarianism, I have become much more thoughtful when it comes to my diet, exercise, lifestyle in general, and even the products that I buy beyond the grocery store - all because I started out by deciding that eating other animals' does not currently align with my values because of the way it is produced. Regardless of where my lifestyle journey goes, I am grateful for having become more cognizant of how I approach it.