choosing to go vegetarian: the arbonne influence

Welcome to part 2 of 3 of the story of my choice to go vegetarian! I began last Monday with a prequel that you can read here.

I discussed my eating habits growing up, and hopefully you noticed that many pieces were in place all along. I ended with a memory of myself actually admitting I could "survive" as a vegetarian if I had to. But that was over ten years ago, and I didn't make the choice then. Why?

The sad but honest truth comes down to laziness, plain and simple. Meat is accessible and socially acceptable. It's so much easier to grab a meat-based entree at any place you go versus scouring the menu for alternatives. Eating meat is "normal," and we've been conditioned all our lives to think we must have it, because it is the only source of protein there could possibly be. I continued eating meat simply because it was easy and non-taboo.

The major turning point in my story overlaps with the story of why I choose to become an Arbonne Independent Consultant. Please don't get turned off into thinking that I am trying to plug my business here; the bottom line is that I love Arbonne, and they were a major influence when it came to making this decision.

Going back to when I was 20 or 21, my friend Kelly attended an Arbonne party and fell in love with the products. The consultant gave her a skincare sample which she gave to me. It was for our RE9 line which is Arbonne's anti-aging skincare system. At that age, I obviously didn't need the product, but I was curious and gave it a try.

I was AMAZED by the results. My skin looked incredible. I was also SHOCKED by the price tag. At the time, I only knew two things; the products were the best thing I'd ever tried, and the price tag was out of my reach as a college student. I didn't buy anything at the time, but I was in love. Whenever I would come across a consultant at an event, I would feign ignorance to get another sample (they last about 5 days!). Pretty pathetic, huh?

Fast forward about six years.While Facebook surfing, I see a post that a local consultant is having a free product drawing from all the new "likes" to her Facebook page. Guess who wins? The recently made-over, full size skincare line is MINE! Hallelujah! (except this time, I got the age-appropriate FC5 line!)

Like any good consultant, she didn't stop at giving me some free stuff and sending me on my way. She sat down with me and went over ALL the products that were offered, what they did, and why they were different.

I know new that in addition to being effective products, they are safe products; vegan-certified, gluten-free, paraben-free, and more! Where I once thought the products were overpriced, I learned that they last FOREVER, thus being cost effective as well (I won the skincare in February 2011 and now in March 2012, I am still using my SECOND set of skincare! Don't even get me started on other product I earned that I am still using to this day, over a year later!)

The more I learned, the more I became addicted to the products and the lifestyle. I had previously had an interest in living holistically, but Arbonne inspired me to step things up in that department and take a close look at all the products I was using.

In August of 2011, I signed on as an Independent Consultant. In addition to being an example by being "a product of the product" (I use a lot of them!), I realized I needed to be more informed on the lifestyle Arbonne represented.

As mentioned before, the products are certified vegan. That sounds nice to me, but it wasn't something I felt I needed. I bet it sounds pretty darn awesome to a vegan, though! In an effort to get a realistic insight into that lifestyle, I turned to social networking.

The deciding factor in my becoming vegetarian all began with a few 'likes' on Facebook that I will be sharing with you all next week!

[update: read the conclusion to this series here!]


Thanks to Coastal Charm for sharing my story!