VeggieFest post, at last

Actually, it's called "SummerFest," which isn't very descriptive, but whatever.

I did not expect to get much out of it--but I *loved* it. I loved it more and more as the days wore on. It was heartening to be surrounded by completely normal looking people, all of whom shared this core value: a dedication to avoid contributing to the suffering of animals. I don't know how to explain it other than to say it was just soul-enriching.

I didn't learn a ton than I didn't already now. The food, while sometimes delicious, was mostly meh. But I loved the conversations I had--not just with Momcat and (especially) Kipsy about our own approach to veganism/activism, but with new people I met. It was invigorating, and it made me more committed. Kipsy and I vowed to try much harder to be "real" vegans rather than don't ask/don't tell vegans, or "95%" vegans, or whatever. Kipsy also convinced me of the importance of really, actively avoiding household and cosmetic products that are tested on animals. I have committed myself to that--in retrospect, it's silly that I didn't do so before.

Amazingly, I managed to lose about a pound over the course of the conference. "Amazing" because I didn't exercise much, and I ate and ate and ate. Next post is about weight loss!