Saturday, July 27, 2013

Revitalization


Hello all,

After spending the first half of my summer traveling the world, I have used the last month to relax, unwind and think. A lot. The majority of my thinking has been centered around my lifestyle and how I can improve it. I've come up with a lot of ways, and one of them includes spending much much less time and energy on encouraging consumerism. 

I've been gradually setting up/moving into my new apartment near my school, and in the process I've come to realize how much stuff I own. So so much. It's actually incredible - I flew to NY from Missouri last August - I only brought one suitcase with me. In less than a year my possessions have become so numerous that I have managed to fill the biggest closet in my new apartment and I still don't have enough room for everything. 

I don't even shop that much - it may come as a surprise, as I'm a fashion blogger, but I honestly don't buy a lot of clothes. When I do buy clothes I am incredibly cheap - I generally only buy things on sale or things from thrift stores in Missouri - really really cheap ones. 

I don't even quite understand how I've acquired so much stuff in the past year, but I am making it my goal to get rid of everything that I don't need. This includes a large amount of clothes that I never even wear. 

I will no longer be accepting free clothes that I don't need from companies that I've never even heard of. I will still post outfits, but I will only wear secondhand clothing (and the clothing I already own) in my posts. I can't give up my love of styling outfits for myself, but I can give up the wasteful lifestyle that comes along with it and I can promote an alternative lifestyle - one that doesn't destroy the planet as quickly. 

In the last month I've also made another massive life decision. I've decided to become a vegan. I'm not doing this for health reasons. I gave up eating meat about two and a half years ago, and I will never eat meat again. I don't believe in harming other beings - I don't even kill insects anymore because I think it's wrong. My becoming a vegan is not so much a personal ethical decision but a form of political protest - I will no longer stand for the way that farm animals are treated in the world - particularly in the United States. I will do everything I can to oppose the system of factory farming, starting with the food that I put into my mouth. I will likely turn this blog into a hybrid fashion-food blog so that I can have an outlet for discussing these two enormous changes that I'll be making in my life. 


4 comments:

  1. That's a very interesting post. You're totally right about consumerism in general; most of my clothes are also from second hand shops, and I don't enter anymore in "formal" shops. I don't see the point to wear the same shirt as thousands other girls in the world, and to encourage the production of a massive amount of clothes made in China.

    It's great to read persons as you who have this mind. I mean, we've reached a point where we have to change our way of life, and it gives me hope when I see that we are more and more people who wants to change the world we live in.
    I understood how shallow fashion might be if we just follow as a sheep. It's better to use fashion as a way to create, invent, and spread our ideas.

    I will never eat meat again, too. And I can't understand why some people still ask me "Why don't you eat meat ?" as if it was something totally weird and marginal. The real question would be "Why do you eat meat ?". People should be aware about how meat is made. I hope the world is changing, but if not, we can at least do our best to not encourage this destruction and live our life far from this madness.

    Noé,
    Couleur Spleen.

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    1. Thank you so much for your beautiful comment. I am a huge fan of your style and I'm really glad that you share the same beliefs and ideas as me - it's refreshing!

      I do think the world is changing, just very very slowly. Too slowly, but I suppose we just have to live with that at the moment. I think at the moment, spreading awareness is the best way to change behavior, but even that doesn't work most of the time. People who don't eat meat and who care about animal welfare, whether they actually like animals or not, are always targeted for being "too emotional" or for being "non-conformists", which is really sad to me.

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  2. Hi Megan, I am Mayo M. from lookbook where i post my outfits for only one reason - to show that we dont need to be shoppingholic to be creative. therefore i post only recycled and thrifted outfits and i never promote any brands. My main point is to fight consumerism as in real life. And Im vegan too. 

    I was wondering where were you so i went to your blog and read this post.

    I am so proud of you.
    Your decisions are so so important and beautiful. People like you make the world prospere and go on, not back.
    I feel like a citizen of the world since i was born so i am happy to say hello to someone who feels the same. :)))
    It might be hard sometimes, especially interacting with people who consume meat and everything else in this world without questioning it.
    But it is worth it, trust me. People slowly catch that vegan thought, it sits somewhere in their brains, even though they are mybe not aware of that. I think much more people are turning to vegan lifestyle, which is really a sign of the greater awareness. and maybe in 100 years the world will be a little better place. And in more 100 even better.
    That is what i truly believe.
    I am very happy for you!
    If you have any questions ever about veganism or so, im here. :)
    Love,Mayo M.

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  3. Awake and Alive ^^♪ )
    http://www.lauderlis.com/2014/12/megan-lois_17.html#ml3

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