In 2019, I had close friend, a vegan since he was a child, who had been talking to me about it for years. However, being a product of the environment in which I lived, I mostly mocked him along side everyone else. That fall, I was preparing for my second and final deployment with the U.S. Marine Corps, and I happened across “The Game Changers” on Netflix. I was astounded. Everything that I thought I knew about nutrition was suddenly in question. Over the follow months, I spent countless hours researching the facts of plant-based diets. Recently, my mother started having problems with her heart. With a considerable amount of effort, I was able to convince her to begin looking into her diet. Now I get calls from her several times a day just to tell me what she ate or to ask me what I’m cooking for dinner. It’s taken some time but I am determined to make it a lifestyle.