You eat mostly plants. Sometimes you eat fish. Or cheese. You wear leather. And silk. But most days, you drink almond milk smoothies, eat a lot of hummus, kale, and chia seeds, and heck, you even order the veggie burger off the menu!

You don’t call yourself a vegan, and you constantly worry that “real” vegans are judging you. Because you’re not good enough. Not pure enough.

And, well, vegans do judge you. Mostly because we were you once! And we just want you to know that making the leap to full time veganism isn’t so hard. We did it. We know you can too.

If you’re a part time vegan and you find it’s just really hard to make that leap to full time plant eating, you’re not alone! There’s support out there to help you. Make friends with your local vegan community, or find virtual support through social media. Having friends that are vegan is the best way to stick with it. I don’t know what I’d do without my vegan support system!

In the beginning, you might make a few mistakes. You might eat something with animal products in it by accident or ignorance. You might give in to a craving. Those things happen. It doesn’t make you a failure. Just start back up with your next meal. Before you know it, being vegan will become second nature!

And vegans? Stop being so mean to part time vegans! Most of them aren’t hypocrites, most of them are good people who are trying to do better. They’re just not all the way there yet. Instead of being judgy, support our semi-vegan friends. Invite them to dinner. Share recipes with them. Be supportive. Realize that every meal that is eaten that doesn’t hurt animals is a victory. Part time vegans help the cause, too. And hopefully one day, they’ll join our team for good!