I decided to become vegan for environmental reasons. I have always been conscious of how we as humans impact our environment. I remember learning about recycling and limiting our use of natural resources at a young age and being so confused at why we weren’t actively working on trying to protect our planet. This led to discussions on greenhouse gas emissions and the harm they cause to our ozone layer and increase in extreme weather conditions. I didn’t learn until many years later that animal agriculture was one of the main contributors to these issues. This piqued my interest in veganism and made me start researching it online. In this research, I learned many things about veganism. At first I assumed it was just a diet, but I began to understand that it’s a lifestyle that prioritizes the reduction of animal suffering. I began to follow vegan content creators and influencers to gain insight and receive advice on going vegan in a house full of non-vegans. Through these outlets I began to discover videos taken on factory farms and in laboratories of what animals were forced to endure. This newfound knowledge combined was the catalyst that I needed to finally go vegan in 2021. Veganism is important to me because it saves animals' lives and prevents them from experiencing horrific conditions. Not only do I value the safety and health of animals, but it asserts to these big corporations that we won’t just accept their actions that continue to harm animals and our planet as a whole. Veganism itself is an act of revolt against these harmful practices. I also value that in being vegan I am able to spread the values and beliefs of veganism to friends, family, and even strangers. I enjoy being able to educate people on issues they were otherwise unaware of or never considered to be issues in the first place. Veganism shows me that people still care about the issues plaguing us and it gives me hope for the future that there will be a planet for my descendants to inhabit and for humans and animals to live in harmony with one another. In the future, I hope to continue promoting veganism to my community. There are a large number of black vegans, but there could always be more of us. I’d like to educate more black people on how consuming animal products puts people at risk for diseases and how the environmental issues animal agriculture helps cause are felt most by our communities. In furthering my education to become a dermatologist, I can promote products that are vegan and cruelty free to my patients.