My adventure as a vegan started out as an informal student of health trying to absorb all I could about plant-based living to become the best version of me. That process has surprisingly led to me now serving as a teacher or guide for others who are looking for inspiration on their own paths to optimal health.

It's been almost fifteen years since I first decided to cut out all meat and animal products from my diet. At the time, I just didn't like the way I felt eating meat and I was also lactose intolerant. While in college I was still vegan but eating a lot of junk food and getting sick a lot. I had a cousin who was a raw foodist who inspired me to consider going raw. Years later, my skin started to break out horribly and my energy was at an all time low. I remembered the raw vegan diet, and also started to learn a lot informally about holistic health from the Rastafarians and healers in my hood in Brooklyn.

I was able to completely heal myself of acne within a month and continued on with a vegan, but very high raw diet. When I moved from New York to DC, people constantly stopped to ask me about what I was eating or the health products I was using, so I decided to start a blog called Raw Girl in a Toxic World. The blog allowed me to share all of the remedies and new therapies I was reading about or trying on my own. From there, I started writing books. My first book is called The Acne-Free Diet, and it includes my journey, a detox plan, and how to heal acne for life from the inside out without pills, lotions, and acne potions that doctors generally prescribe. My latest book, Got Veg? How to Thrive on a Plant-Based Diet, is available on Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Nobles and more. I wrote it to help anyone understand the basics of a plant-based diet, and the various levels they can aspire to. It focuses on nutrients your body needs to function at its best that people usually don't mention to plant-eaters and also includes how to transition, set up a veg kitchen, and some recipes to get people started.

As a black vegan, I am excited to see awareness grown within our communities about health. More people need to understand that the myth that black people do not like healthy food is something that isn't true. The more we educate people about how food affects their spiritual vibration, their thoughts, actions, and eventually destiny, the more willing they will be to try something new. Part of what I am here to do is inspire people to make healthy choices and I intend to continue doing so far as long as I can.