Hi, my name is Maria. Welcome to my blog!

This blog is about inspiration and transition.

I want people to know that the switch from a meat-eating to a vegan diet is possible (and delicious!) I want to show that it isn’t hard to be environmentally-conscious and have love for nature without being called unproductive.

I want to emphasize that any transition should be gradual in order to be successful.

I want to show how a healthy an active lifestyle can improve one’s happiness like it did mine.

I want to reignite the idea that teachers are important in our lives. After all, without your 3rd grade teacher you wouldn’t know how to divide, or write cursive (a skill nowadays!) Here you will find a lot of videos and photos of funny things that my students do in the classroom and outside.

I want to share my journey to a sustainable, healthy, happy, and balanced lifestyle with you.

Here is a “little” about my life.

While under the guidance of inspirational professors at the University of Toronto, I learned about the fragility of our environment, and the importance of a healthy ecosystem. It was during my undergrad that I made the decision to become a teacher, and share my passion for our planet. I hoped that teaching would help me to inspire a generation of students to become creative and responsible citizens.

As a constant educator I try to lead by example and include responsible living into everything I do, including diet. After researching the damage that meat production does to the environment, I made the decision to become a vegetarian. It was only after I was meat-free for some time that I developed a passion for fitness. This lead to further research, learning about plant protein sources with adequate vitamins and minerals to help build muscle. In the process of studying vegan protein sources I learned more and more about animal products and the damage they create in the environment. It was then that I decided to experiment with the whole “vegan thing”. This blog is in part about my journey on the road to being fully vegan. I am not there yet.

As a teacher and advocate for women’s rights I take girl’s and women’s issues very seriously. I discourage high schools girls from going on crash diets. Every week, I educate girls about the importance of a healthy whole food diet, as well as exercise and the importance of loving and respecting themselves. I want girls to understand that they can be strong. I want them to realize that the key to their beauty is their mind; and the key to a healthy mind in a balanced lifestyle.

I currently live on Jeju island in South Korea.

It is a beautiful sub-tropical island with paradise-like beaches but sadly, with very little food choice for an aspiring vegan, which has forced me to be creative with the meals. I have lived here for 2 years and will plan to see more of Asia next year.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog! Feel free to contact me any time at marijabramenko@gmail.com

My Twitter is @TheVeganNomad

Please feel free to use the photos as long as you link to this website as well as http://www.chrisdwyer.ca when appropriate.

I wish you love and light, always.

M