7 Confessions of an Awkward Animal Activist

I made hilarious mistakes, but my passion led me to a good place

Photo: Shutterstock

Throughout my childhood, many thoughts about animals constantly buzzed in my head. Three of the most common thoughts were:

1. Animals are cute and fascinating. Seeing them makes us happy — so I want them to be happy.
2. Animals are vulnerable. They are full of emotion, but they can’t advocate in our language.
3. Standards for the treatment of animals are much lower than they are for humans, especially if they aren’t dogs or cats. The morals I’ve been taught do not apply to how we treat a turkey, fish, rat, or pig.

I wanted to reclaim those morals, and to raise those standards.

Now 27, it’s been about 20 years since my first stirrings of animal rights fervor. I’ve grown a lot and had many great experiences trying to help animals that led me to what I do now. I’ve also had some funny and awkward moments. Here are seven of my favorite memories from a life of defending animals:

1. I turned in an assignment that lampooned my ant-killing classmate. The teacher didn’t notice.