As an expression of emotion and pain, I strongly feel that poetry can be an extremely effective tool. I’ve been intermittently writing poetry/songs for the two years or so, and it has helped me gather my thoughts and emotions in times when my hell brain was causing a lot of problems for me. It was introduced to me as a form of therapy; an outlet to express things that one might have trouble articulating in typical therapeutic mediums, like conversational therapy. I have chosen my personal project as poetry; I plan to write poetry in an attempt to articulate my thoughts and feelings on world issues, and on the issues I see around myself. While my typical solution obviously wouldn’t be an actively violent one, choosing to express my feelings through poetry is a lot less “violent” than letting my frustration and resentment build inside of me.

My course of action is that any time in the next few weeks I’m confronted with a situation that bothers me, that I normally would do my best to ignore, to write poetry about my feelings on the subject. This could range from thoughts of social injustice being on my mind, to stresses regarding every day college life. This kind of mindfulness will, I hope, make me a more well-balanced person with less violent resentment building inside me. I’m not sure what I want to do with these poems after they’re written, but maybe if I decide to show some people, that it helps someone feel slightly less alone in some way or another. If this is the case, I’ll be more than happy with the results of my project.

Since consuming animal based products supports an inhumane practice, I have committed myself to becoming a vegetarian for the next five weeks. Most of us are unaware of the processes required to get animal-based products on the shelves of our supermarkets. The reality is that industrial animal husbandry is extremely abusive toward animals. An example is the poultry industry, it is estimated that each year 9 billion chickens die to be converted into food in our country alone (PETA), moreover, they are kept in atrocious environments, living their whole lives in unsanitary and densely populated barns where they can barely move. This is similar to the life stories of the cattle and livestock that are turned into the beef and ham that we see at our dinner table. It then becomes clear that by purchasing these products we are supporting a form of institutional violence towards animals.

However this doesn’t have to be the case, even though our culture has consistently encouraged a heavy animal protein based diet, many people are becoming vegan or vegetarian. And the diet has even been proved to be healthier and more environmentally responsible (as industrial animal husbandry is highly carbon intensive).

For the preceding reasons, I have taken the initiative to become vegetarian, at least for the following five weeks, as it is a way support the cause of nonviolence towards animals. As a vegetarian, I’ll allow myself to consume dairy, honey, and eggs, and although these are still animal-based products, I’m not ready to commit to a vegan diet just yet.

Finally, to address an argument that may arise, I’d like to say that eating meat from free roam and humanely raised animals is preferable to eating meat from industrial complexes. However, these methods aren’t scalable as to meet the demands of an american population that eats meat on a daily basis. For these reasons, eating less meat is still the most effective approach toward ending institutionalized animal abuse.

PETA. “Chickens Used for Food”

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming/chickens/

For my personal project I have decided to practice meditation. To me, meditation is not simply sitting and achieving the skill of being without thoughts. Meditation is being in touch with your body, mind, and soul. For the past year or so, I have been exploring the world of mindfulness, which is the practice of being at peace with your thoughts, instead of  trying to control them.  I used to hate that my mind is so naturally busy. Mindfulness has made me more at peace with the pace of my mind, it has helped me calm feelings of anxiety, and has helped me sleep. Having experienced this type of meditation, I was eager to see how different methods could affect me.

I was researching different types of meditation one could practice, and came across an article that contained 23 different meditation techniques. As part of my project, I plan to pick a different technique every week and practice it twice a day, for four days of that week. I will then reflect on how I was able to practice this technique, how it made me feel, and how it contributes to nonviolence within myself.

I chose to study meditation as my personal project because I feel it is very important to keep our minds healthy. Practicing meditation can improve sleep abilities, decrease stress, improve focus and relationships, promote compassion, and decrease aggression. Becoming more focused and centered within myself will allow me to show nonviolence and understanding in my relationships with others, as is a core intention of meditation. By channeling feelings of compassion for others and myself, as well as decreasing anger and stress, I will be able to better practice nonviolence in my personal life.

Sources:

https://www.headspace.com/science/meditation-benefits

https://liveanddare.com/types-of-meditation

For my personal project, I decided to attempt the popular vegetarian lifestyle over the course of the next five weeks. For anyone who isn’t familiar with the vegetarian diet, allow me to enlighten you. By definition, a vegetarian is someone who abstains from eating any form of meat products, fish included. Unlike veganism, vegetarianism doesn’t exclude all animal products. Vegetarians may still eat dairy products, eggs, etc.

In doing some personal research, I found that the reasons one may follow a veggie diet vary greatly. Some do it for health related reasons (medical issues, weight loss, etc), while for others, the diet is followed in opposition to the practices of the meat industry, or more specifically, the killing of animals for the purpose of human consumption. Many vegetarians believe that violence against animals is morally unacceptable, considering that there are numerous other foods that can sustain human life. As someone who loves (and I mean loves) chicken and fish, I wanted to try and make this process a bit easier by educating myself on the meat industry and its practices. I can confidently say that after viewing the acclaimed documentary Food Inc., I was definitely ready to begin my journey.

The first few days of eating vegetarian proved to be a bit difficult. Finding things in the dining hall that were adequately filling was a bit of a challenge, since prior to this diet, I would usually consume some form of meat to fill me up. I found that in my first few days eating green, I would usually have to eat a pre-bed snack due to my grumbling stomach, something I never had to do during my days as a carnivore. Every time I felt the need to reach for a chicken cutlet, I did further research on the grotesque practices of the meat industry, which usually subdued my craving. As I went on my third day of the vegetarian diet today, I found that the pesky grumbling has gone away as I’ve increased my vegetable intake, and started incorporating things like squash, quinoa, and chickpeas, all of which are vegetarian friendly foods with filling macronutrients. I’m hoping that as my body adjusts to this lifestyle, I will begin to feel the positive physical and mental affects that come along with this nonviolent form of eating. 

I became a vegetarian a little over a year ago. I made the decision impulsively so I didn’t think I would last longer than a week, but I learned to love the lifestyle. Changing my diet made me feel so much healthier because I substituted the meat I was eating with vegetables and other nutritious foods. When I started my journey I didn’t know much about the inhumane practices of factory farms and the damage it causes our environment. Overtime, I watched documentaries such as Food Inc and Cowspiracy that expose the unethical and environmentally destructive activities of the meat industry. I also read articles that focus on this issue and its global impact, which expanded my understanding and made me even more passionate about the cause. Some of my friends commented that even if I stopped eating meat the problem won’t go away because everyone else will be eating meat. Ghandi once said that “you must be the change you wish to see in the world,” this quote in addition to other factors inspired me to stick to the lifestyle.

It is predicted that the global consumption of beef, poultry, pork and other livestock will double by 2020. This not only hurts the animals, but also contributes to water and air pollution as well as environmental degradation.  With so much at risk, it is imperative that more people are introduced to a more sustainable vegetarian diet. For my personal project I hope to do more research on the meat industry, share my experience with other vegetarians and inform non-vegetarians of the benefits of the lifestyle and the health risk and other consequences that come with consuming meat.

Citations

Brooks, Cassandra. “Meat’s Environmental Impact.” Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. July 25, 2016. Accessed September 24, 2018. https://woods.stanford.edu/news-events/news/meats-environmental-impact.