Green Journeys

My green journey began the day I started college. "I'm a vegetarian," I told my new roommate. Little did she know that I'd only been a vegetarian for, oh, two hours. But I stuck with it, I gave up meat "cold turkey," and I even waded into the vegan waters for a year.

After that first very big change, my green-formation went very. very. slowly...Granted, for awhile I was the only person I knew who carried cloth bags and knew what a CFL was, but beyond those surface changes, I didn't do a whole lot that was green.

And then I turned 28. Which doesn't sound like a very important birthday until I remind you that 28 means you've been an adult for an entire decade. I have a very clear memory of having a discussion with my husband on my 28th birthday - we were in the car turning onto Georgia Avenue - and I said, "I'm a completely different person now than when I was 18. I still claim to have the same values, but I'm not living those values. What am I doing with my life?"

I decided it was time to green my life. And more importantly, to get involved. Fast forward three years, and here I am. Blogging almost daily about going green. Working on building up Raleigh's public transit and community gardens. And dreaming of the garden I'm going to plant this spring (though the chickens and the bees are still far in the future).

If you want to read what happened between my 28th birthday and now, you can visit this post I wrote over at The Green Phone Booth about how I became The Conscious Shopper.

I think December is a great month to look back at how we've done and plan for the future ahead, and on that note, I've enjoyed reading all of your posts about your green journeys for December's APLS Carnival. Such progress we've made!

:: Cherie at Renaissance Garden traces her journey back to some eye-opening books and writes that her biggest struggle is now plastic.

:: Kellie writes at The Green Phone Booth that "there was no grand catalyst or life-changing event that caused our decision. It was just something we knew had to be done. Plain and simple."

:: Connie at Penny Basket describes going green in Malaysia, which she says is "not one of the greenest countries in the world, but we're getting there."

:: Rae at My Zero Waste says that her green journey began with being pregnant: "I became aware that 60% of what I put onto my skin would end up inside me. And inside me was a perfect, healthy and growing baby. I wanted to keep her that way as much as I could, so I started looking at the products I was using and was horrified by what I discovered." I think many mothers can relate.

:: At Going Green Mama, Robbie also traces her green journey back to becoming a mother, and her efforts at going green have revolved around her children. She writes, "These days, though, I’m focusing on launching a quiet attack – by teaching my kids habits that can last for this generation and the next."

:: Alison of Green Me describes how she was "outed" as a treehugger. Her life sounds awesome, and I now wish that I lived in Boulder, CO.

:: Steph at Greening Families cites finances, medical issues, and having a child as her green impetus. She adds, "Now that our daughters are a little older, the lives lived by other families is becoming the driver of change for us. We want all children, human and animal, to have the chance to grow up healthy and strong."

:: Hannah at The Purloined Letter writes that for many years she was resistant to environmentalism....until she and her partner were in discussions over the number of kids they should have. At that time, she read Bill McKibben's Maybe One: A Case for Smaller Families and it "changed [her] life in the way few books have."

:: Jenn at It's Not Easy Being Green describes how her parents (in particular her parents' garden) impacted her green journey.

:: Lisa at Retro Housewife Goes Green also had a green mom who was so influential Lisa was already concerned about recycling by age two! She writes, "My dad went to throw away a glass baby food jar to which I said 'no daddy we cycle.'"

I hope you'll take a few minutes to check out these wonderful stories! Thanks to everyone who participated in the carnival.

If you are interested in serving as a host of a future carnival, simply contact Robbie from Going Green Mama at goinggreenmama[at]gmail[dot]com.