How I Became a Vegan (Part 2)

In college I studied accounting, and after graduation I worked as a CPA in a fast-paced and competitive public accounting firm. It was the kind of environment that really discouraged cooking. There was barely enough time to even eat, let alone cook, so I never bothered to learn how to. Thankfully all this changed when I discovered veganism.

Since I didn’t want to eat any more animal products, I had to start to learn how to cook. It started with one cookbook, then another, then 10 others, until I’ve cooked more in 6 months than I’ve ever did in my entire life. While my co-workers were mindlessly eating take-out chicken Caesar salads and grilled salmons in front of their computers, I brought freshly-cooked lunches every day, and it made me feel so accomplished and healthy even though I could only stir-fry. But man, I was a mean stir-fry master. There was honestly nothing I could not stir-fry, and that I give credit to my Chinese heritage.

As I cooked more, I discovered so many different kinds of foods, tastes, cooking techniques, and cookware that made my life so much more colorful and delicious. It was like an awaking of senses and sensibility. I discovered so many different kinds of foods, tastes, cooking techniques, and cookware that made my life so much more colorful and delicious.

As my passion for vegan food progressed, I just wanted to immerse myself in it. All I wanted to do all day was cook. I daydreamed about what to make for dinner while I’m at work, and I practically danced through Farmers Markets with Broadway tunes in my head. Cooking made me feel alive and purposeful, so there was really only one thing I could do: learn how to cook vegan food for real.

So I did. I moved from LA to the east coast and enrolled myself at one of the few vegan cooking schools in the country, Natural Kitchen Cooking School. I live in Western Massachusetts, so for 10 months, I took 6-hour bus rides to Manhattan every other weekend to take my classes. I never missed a class as it was invaluable to me. I learned so darn much from that program that I seriously never would’ve had the knowledge and the confidence to cook I way I do today if it weren’t for NKCS. So here’s a little shout-out to them. You rock!

Hmm… I was hoping to write my “short” story in two parts, but it looks like I’m a lot chattier than I thought. I still have an awesome third chapter that I’ve got to tell, so if you’ve got the patience, then hang on for the unanticipated THIRD part to my vegan story, which is really cool. I promise.

***Stay tuned for Part 3!!***