After a couple of years in the transition phase, in January of 2021, I committed to being 100% plant-based. I'd slip a day and pick myself up recognizing how sick whatever it was I ate made me. The time before 2021, I was mainly plant-based and it gave me a chance to learn more, especially from the luminaries who pioneered the science-backed studies confirming the benefits of living a plant-based lifestyle. I experienced more, learned more, and talked to more who were inspiring and encouraging. Today, I realize the vision I had of veganism was shaded by the veil of misunderstanding. Hearing people talk about being vegan, even in retrospect doesn't due it justice. I heard the words of compassion and feeling love. I had to experience it from a mother's perspective. I could imagine what it felt like to have your child snatched away from you. I could imagine how it might feel to be raped and impregnated, forced to have the child, and have it stolen away from you. I could imagine how a chicken who was born to lay eggs, would do so only to never see them incubate and hatch. I could imagine the pain of living years couped up in a pen and treated horrendously in horrendous conditions. It reminded me of what my ancestors felt like in the hull of a big boat after being stolen from their homes and carried for months in untenable conditions only to be sold to a human who treated them like animals. I have felt the impact of living in a smog riddled environment; concerned about growing plants because of acid rain and polluted ground water. These are still concerns and I am more than ever committed to being the example of living a healthy whole food, plant-based vegan lifestyle. At nearly 70 years old, I plan to see a few more decades healthy and prosperous as I help others to share their message and help others as well.