Test Drive

So, this is my first time to really attempt a blog(unless xanga and the occasional myspace rant counts). I'm not sure how loyal I'm going to be but my sister convinced me to give it a shot. I figured it would be good for me because I always have a thousand thoughts running through my mind and it would be nice to get some of them out to make room for more. I don't really know where to begin (I don't really know what direction I want this to go in) but I think I'll talk about something that is important to me. I have been a vegetarian for 2 and half years. I've always been a huge animal lover but by attempts prior to this to forgo meat had never quite stuck. I don't rememeber the exact moment, or why the moment was unique, but everything finally just clicked for me. So, for the last two and a half years that has just been my choice of eating. Lately, though, it has become more than that. I have learned so much about so much and it's hard to turn a blind eye. Ignorance truely is bliss people! Well, I don't know about you, but I just don't like the idea of being ignorant. I want the truth even when it's hard to hear(I'm going to talk some more about this certain topic for now, but I mean to apply it to everything). Once again, I don't remember the exact moment I started to think this way(actually I just don't want to think that hard to recall it) but ever since I have, I've become a different person. A particularly enlightening moment was when I read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. In his book(which I encourage everyone to read) he attempts to discover the truth about the meat industry aka factory farming and what exactly we're putting into our bodies. This book isn't about persuading someone to go vegetarian/vegan; it's simply to shed light on the truth. I really learned a lot about the reality of how we have meat on our plates. This sparked my inquiries about many other things. If we are being sheltered aka lied to aka treated like mindless children aka brainwashed I could only imagine what else we believed to be true, but actually wasn't. After reading this book, I did some research. Now this is something we would all probably say "no duh" to but did you know that when things are advertised on tv like "build strong bones, drink lots of milk" or " clear your acne, get proactiv" or "have a healthy dog" get this dog food, or this baby food, etcetera, etcetera that you shouldn't always believe everything you hear/see/read? It just so happens, no surprise, that these adverstisments are there to convince you to buy their product (in case you didn't know, everything is always about money in this world). Now you might say, well they're not forcing me to buy it and if I don't want it, I won't. However, what if you don't have a choice? What if as a society, culture, world we have been brainwashed to believe these things(Please don't be scared by my use of brainwash, i promise this is going somewhere). Now, I don't have all the answers but I defintiely strive to find them. So far I have discovered(taking my own stance, this could all be lies too) that milk actually is not good for you(why would we drink another animal's breast milk after all). It contains growth hormones and things meant to grow a strong calf. I know I'm not trying to be as big as a cow. The fact is, it's not natural or good for us. If you're wondering how you will get your calcium, then you are once again proving the effect of 'their' brainwashing. Calcium does not just come from cow's milk people. A great source of calcium can actually be found in leafy, green vegetables and if you're not a veggie eater(even though you should be) there are other sources. Ok, enough preaching about what you should eat. What about the stuff you put on your body? Ever wonder what's in the lotion you slather on your body at night, the suncreen we're supposed to use to 'protect' our bodies, your eyeshadow, shampoo, lip gloss, and the list goes on? Turns out that there are many harmful chemicals in the things we are using. Is it too much to ask that my moistuizer not slowly kill me? Come on!! Is anything safe? Now one could go crazy examing every little thing (I'm afraid I'm on the verge) and that's not my point at all. My point is just to be more aware. Am I going to stop using my deodorant, perfume, hairspray? Probably not. But at least I know and can try to do my best to look for better things. Same goes for everything I listed earlier. The dog food you feed your dog probably has dogs in it and other disgusting things. The baby food you feed your baby probably has more sugar in it than a hot fudge sundae and waaay too many preservatives. It just goes on and on(like I have been, sorry).
I think I need to find an end here somewhere, so here it is.


Moral of the story, don't believe everything you've been told/read/seen. Question everything. What does that get you? Maybe a little crazy, but a lot closer to the truth.

Now that I got that out of my system, I promise my blogs will be a lot less preachy and more about new things I've learned and interested in. Also, about my search for the meaning of life(ahh, so cliche I know). I think I already know what my next post will be about. What makes a life, and what makes one truely happy? I probably should of started with this becuase this is what I think about the most. Ok, Ok I'll end here for now though. If you made it all the way through this, congratulations. I hope it was worth your time!