Take the Natural High Pledge

On the morning of Tuesday, May 17th, 2011, more than 80% of Rancho Buena Vista High School’s 3,000 students stood up and took the pledge to live naturally high. Megan Hastings, Natural High’s summer intern, suggested the idea of a Natural High Pledge after being inspired by Seventeen‘s Body Peace Treaty Pledge. Michelle Ahearne, executive director of Natural High, and Allura Garis, youth marketing associate of Natural High, were fascinated by the idea and immediately put their plans into action. The pledge would give the youth a chance to take action and be directly involved in the cause. The first ever Natural High Pledge was held on that day, and Rancho Buena Vista High School became the first school to have the Natural High Club, founded by Mitch Medrano, with Jenna Glazier as the president. The high school even proclaimed May 17th to be “Natural High Day”.

The day started with the students alternating between watching the Natural High 4 DVD Series and attending an assembly. The Natural High 4 DVD Series features the band Relient K, professional skater Paul Rodriguez, Jr., NBA player Mike Conley, Jr., professional surfer and musician Timmy Curran, and many more. The DVD shows the youth how they can live up to their potentials and achieve their goals without the use of drugs and alcohol, and was distributed to every middle school in the United States in September 2009. The assembly began with speakers Chelsie Hill, a Pacific Grove High School student who got into the car with a drunk driver and is now paralyzed from the waist down, and Aaron Rubin, a 27-year-old who overdosed on oxycontin and can no longer walk nor talk (watch Hill’s interview about her accident here, and watch Rubin’s story here). At the end of the assembly, Natural High Club president Jenna Glazier asked the students of Rancho Buena Vista High School to stand up if they wanted to pledge to live naturally high, and more than 80% of the students did so. 20 students were filmed by Natural High’s filmmaker Josh Landan, pledging on camera to live naturally high. These students will potentially be featured in the next video, Natural High 5 DVD Series; this video will also feature the band Hey Monday and fashion designer and actress Lauren Conrad.

Take the pledge to live naturally high, to live a life without drugs and alcohol. “Together, we are not alone. Together, we are the uprising generation. Together, we can be the movement.”

Natural High is currently working on making the Natural High Pledge virtual so that those who want to sign it can do so online. The pledge will also be available at the following Vans Warped Tour dates: Pomona, CA (July 1st), Ventura, CA (July 3rd), San Diego, CA (August 9th), and Carson, CA (August 10th). To learn more about Natural High, visit their website online or go to their Facebook page.

Face Down by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Face Down by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Hey girl, you know you drive me crazy
One look puts the rhythm in my hand
Still I’ll never understand why you hang around
I see what’s going down

Cover up with makeup in the mirror
Tell yourself it’s never gonna happen again
You cry alone and then he swears he loves you

Do you feel like a man when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well, I’ll tell you, my friend
One day this world’s going to end
As your lies crumble down
A new life she has found

A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect
Every action in this world will bear a consequence
If you wade around forever
You will surely drown
I see what’s going down

I see the way you go and say you’re right again,
Say you’re right again
Heed my lecture

Do you feel like a man when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well, I’ll tell you, my friend
One day this world’s going to end
As your lies crumble down
A new life she has found

Face down in the dirt, she said,
“This doesn’t hurt”
She said, “I finally had enough”

Face down in the dirt, she said,
“This doesn’t hurt”
She said, “I finally had enough”

One day she will tell you that she has had enough
It’s coming round again

Do you feel like a man when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well, I’ll tell you, my friend
One day this world’s going to end
As your lies crumble down
A new life she has found

Do you feel like a man when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well, I’ll tell you, my friend
One day this world’s going to end
As your lies crumble down
A new life she has found

Face down in the dirt, she said,
“This doesn’t hurt”
She said, “I finally had enough”

Visit The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’s Purevolume page to listen to more of their music or visit the Videos tab to watch the music video for “Face Down”.

If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit their website.

Anberlin + Faceless International

Anberlin is a rock band that formed in 2002 in Winter Haven, FL. The band consists of lead singer Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, and drummer Nathan Young. The band signed to the record label Tooth & Nail Records within a year of forming and produced three albums over the span of five years. The third album, Cities, was released in 2007 and became Anberlin’s first album to reach the top 20 of the Billboard 200; that album sold almost 34,000 copies during its debut week. Later on in 2007, Anberlin signed with major label Universal Republic and produced two more records. Their first record on the major label, New Surrender, reached #13 on the Billboard 20, and their new single, “Feel Good Drag”, reached #1 on the Alternative Songs chart after being on the chart for 29 weeks. So far, the band has produced five studio albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and ten singles. In total, they have sold over 700,000 records. Anberlin will be touring in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom this summer.

Anberlin has worked with many charities, nonprofits, and community-support organizations. In 2010, their tour included Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee; the tour helped raise money for impoverished communities. The band has also worked closely with the nonprofit To Write Love on Her Arms (read my post about it) and has even designed a shirt for the organization. In 2007, Anberlin invited the organization to tour with them on their Cities tour; the founder of To Write Love on Her Arms, Jamie Tworkowski, spoke before Anberlin’s set at every show about the organization and its mission. The band has participated in numerous benefit shows and has always been heavily involved with many nonprofits, particularly lead singer Stephen Christian. He was exposed to humanitarianism at a young age because his father worked with American Medical Relief, a nonprofit that supplied medical equipment to third world countries. Christian often traveled to Mexico with his father and saw the garbage dumps that people lived in and scoured for food. That experience ignited a spark inside of Christian and drove him to work with numerous nonprofits. His travels to Mexico inspired him to eventually start his own nonprofit called Faceless International.

Faceless International was co-founded by Stephen Christian, Seth Cain, and Sarah Freeman while they were on a humanitarian trip to Haiti. The organization aims to “defend the plight of exploited people worldwide who have gone faceless and unknown for far too long”. The purpose of Faceless International is to raise awareness about social issues that are occurring throughout the global community; it particularly focuses on human trafficking and human slavery. Faceless International also encourages others to get involved within their communities, states, and countries, and to use their talents to help those who are less fortunate and in need. The organization has also teamed up with various bands, such as National Product and the Classic Crime, and other nonprofits like To Write Love on Her Arms and the Emancipation Network to raise money for impoverished countries.

“Find a cause that you are passionate about. Start to make a difference. Your life will be changed. Then you will become the change.” —Faceless International

Watch this video by the A21 Campaign to learn more about human trafficking.

To learn more about Faceless International, visit them online or go to their Facebook page.

Skate4Cancer

Skate4Cancer was founded in 2003 when Rob Dyer was only 18 years old after he lost his mother, both his grandmothers, and his best friend to cancer, all within one year. Driven by the pain and devastation he felt, Rob decided to channel all of his negative emotions into something that he loved to do: skateboarding. In 2004, he planned a skate marathon that started in Los Angeles, California, and ended in his hometown of Newmarket, Canada. Despite ankle fractures, numerous nights spent sleeping outside on the streets, getting bumped and hit by passing cars, sponsors withdrawing from the skate tour, and other hardships, Rob was able to complete his journey in five months. He wanted to prove to the world that anything is possible, as long as there is the determination to accomplish it. He wanted to show others that despite all the trials in life, something good could still come out of them. He wanted to raise awareness about cancer and encourage people to join him in the fight against it. And he wanted to honor all those who have fought the battle against cancer.

Since the first skate to Canada in 2004, Rob has skated across the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, and will be skating across France in 2011. So far, he has skated approximately 12,023 miles! Through skateboarding marathons, S4C hopes to raise money and awareness for cancer. Skate4Cancer’s mission is to hype up youth on the importance of cancer prevention and community building. Although the organization has grown and expanded over the years, that will always be its main focus. Rob and his team strive to create a community that encourages discussion and support for cancer. By working together in this community, Skate4Cancer hopes to drastically reduce the presence of cancer in our society. To create this community, the organization strongly encourages volunteer involvement and even welcomes people to skate with Rob when he passes through their cities (except for on the highways due to safety issues). Besides the skate marathons, Skate4Cancer also throws free events like skateboarding competitions and concerts to bring people together and build up the community. Any donations that are made are immediately given to hospitals and other organizations that Skate4Cancer supports. As these events grew more and more popular and the organization saw how many kids were eager to join the fight against cancer, Rob and his team decided that just raising awareness was not enough. So they decided to start educating the youth on how they could prevent cancer themselves. And that is how the Cure is Knowledge program was born.

The Cure is Knowledge is a branch of Skate4Cancer that strives to encourage healthy living and an active lifestyle in order to prevent cancer. After learning that 80% of all cancers are preventable, Rob was determined to make others realize the importance of understanding that knowledge is currently the only cure for cancer. To educate the youth on cancer prevention, Skate4Cancer has used social media and informative videos, encouraged self-examinations, and started campaigns like Hair4Cancer and Light Up a Smile, Not a Cigarette. To promote these ideas and educate the youth, Rob joined musicians and bands on tour and set up a booth at each show to pass out flyers, talk to kids about cancer and how to prevent it, and encourage healthy discussions about personal experiences with cancer. This tour has now become an annual event to educate people about cancer prevention, and it continues to flourish. Still, Rob saw that cancer is a continuing problem so he decided that something else needed to be done in the fight against cancer. And that is how the idea for the Dream.Love.Cure Centre was created.

The Dream.Love.Cure Centre will serve as a physical place for those who are struggling with cancer, both directly and indirectly, to gather as a community. It will offer support, love, education, and encouragement, and give them a place to share their emotions and stories. Rob knows all about needing support and encouragement when dealing with issues like cancer. After losing so many of his loved ones to cancer, he fought depression, but with the help of his friends, he was able to stay positive and keep moving forward in life. In an interview, Rob stated that “when you lose someone to cancer, I find that there’s not really many places for you to turn because it’s a life-changing experience. And if you don’t have a place that’s non-judgmental, it can be really hard on kids.” That is why Rob and the rest of the team has started to build the centre: to create a safe environment for those of the cancer community. There will be special events, staff to answer questions and provide information, S4C merchandise on sale, a gallery to feature the campaigns, and so much more. There are currently many ideas in the workings for the Dream.Love.Cure Centre, but for now, it is primarily focused on providing a safe haven for those who have been stricken with the devastation of cancer.

Watch Rob’s amazing journey with Skate4Cancer and learn about his future plans for the Dream.Love.Cure Centre in this incredible short documentary.

To learn more about Skate4Cancer, visit them online, or go to the American Cancer Society’s website to learn more about cancer. Click here to buy S4C merch.

Hold on by Good Charlotte

Hold On by Good Charlotte
This world
This world is cold
But you don’t
You don’t have to go
You’re feeling sad, you’re feeling lonely
And no one seems to care
Your mother’s gone and your father hits you
This pain you cannot bear

But we all bleed the same way as you do
And we all have the same things to go through

Hold on if you feel like letting go
Hold on it gets better than you know

Your days
You say they’re way too long
And your nights
You can’t sleep at all
Hold on
And you’re not sure what you’re waiting for
But you don’t want to know more
And you’re not sure what you’re looking for
But you don’t want to know more

But we all bleed the same way as you do
And we all have the same things to go through

Hold on if you feel like letting go
Hold on it gets better than you know
Don’t stop looking, you’re one step closer
Don’t stop searching, it’s not over
Hold on

What are you looking for?
What are you waiting for?
Do you know what you’re doing to me?
Go ahead…what are you waiting for?

Hold on if you feel like letting go
Hold on it gets better than you know
Don’t stop looking, you’re one step closer
Don’t stop searching, it’s not over

Hold on if you feel like letting go
Hold on it gets better than you know
Hold on

To listen to more of Good Charlotte’s music, visit their Facebook or check out their Purevolume page. Visit the Videos tab to watch the music video for “Hold On”. 

If you or someone you know is depressed and/or is thinking about suicide, please call Hopeline at 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433) immediately.

Coldplay + MTF

Coldplay is an English alternative rock band that formed in 1998 after lead singer Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland met at University College London. Guy Berryman then joined as the bassist, and drummer Will Champion followed shortly after. The band has released four full-length studio albums and are currently working on their fifth one. They discography of Coldplay also includes five extended plays, twenty three singles, two live albums, and one compilation album. Coldplay has won several music awards, including six Brit Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), and seven Grammy Awards. They are considered to be one of the world’s best-selling music artists and have sold over fifty million records throughout the world. The band is also active in various social and political causes, and have participated in numerous charity projects.

The band is well-known for donating 15% of its money to charity. Throughout the years, they have participated in events like Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief and Teenage Cancer Trust. Coldplay also participates in the Meat Free Monday campaign, an attempt to help slow climate change, support animal rights, and lead healthier lives by having at least one meat-free day a week; lead singer Martin is also a vegan. In 2009, Coldplay auctioned off numerous significant band collectibles, including their first guitars, and gave all proceeds to Kids Company, a charity that helps disadvantaged young children and adolescents in London. The band is particularly outspoken on the issue of fair trade, especially lead singer Martin, and actively supports Amnesty International and Oxam’s Make Trade Fair (MTF) campaign.

Oxfam is an international confederation that consists of fourteen organizations that work in ninety-eight countries worldwide to find solutions to poverty and injustice. It works directly with people in those communities and tries to influence those that hold power to ensure that the poor people can improve their own lives and have a say in the decisions that affect them. The Make Trade Fair campaign is one of Oxfam’s well-known campaigns, and its purpose is to promote trade justice and fair trade among governments, institutions, and multinational corporations. The campaign focuses on eliminating the following trade practices: dumping, tariffs, unbalanced labor rights for women, and patent issues. Lead singer Chris Martin is an avid supporter of the Make Trade Fair Campaign. He has traveled to Ghana and Haiti to meet farmers and see the effects of unfair trade practices and even has the initials “M.T.F.” printed on his piano. He also draws an equal sign on his left hand before every concert and major event to symbolize his support for fair trade.

From helping cancer patients, to supporting animal rights, to advocating for fair trade, to donating to underprivileged kids, it’s not hard to see that Coldplay has made a significant impact on the world today in many different areas. We may not all have the money that Coldplay has, but we can still do something and we can still make an impact. To get involved in the Make Trade Fair campaign, click here to see what you can do to make the world a better place.

Natural High TV

As one of Natural High’s tools to advocate drug-free and alcohol-free lifestyles, the organization uses Natural High TV, an online film series that features drug-free professional athletes, musicians, and celebrities. The first short film was released in April 2010, featuring professional surfer Dillon Perillo from Malibu, CA. To learn more about Natural High, visit their website or read my blog post about my personal experience with Natural High and why I made the decision to stay drug- and alcohol-free.

The lead singer of one of my favorite bands, Cassadee Pope of Hey Monday, was featured on Natural High TV in August 2010. Check out her interview below! I have seen Hey Monday in concert numerous times and even had the opportunity to work with Cassadee on one of the band’s music videos and be a part of it. I have always admired Cassadee’s ability to sing, write expressive lyrics, and perform on stage. She and the rest of the band are really quite talented musicians, especially for being so young. I gained even more respect for Cassadee after I learned that she supported a drug- and alcohol-free lifestyle and agreed to share her morals and beliefs to all her fans on Natural High TV. She is setting a great example for thousands of young people throughout the world and is truly an exceptional role model. In a world like today’s, it’s crucial to have celebrities who know what’s important and show others that drugs and alcohol are destructive and not the way to success. If Hey Monday is ever in your area, go to their show! They are amazing in concert and very sweet people. You won’t regret it.

Hey Monday is a pop rock band that formed in 2007 from West Palm Beach, FL. The band consists of lead singer Cassadee Pope, guitarist Mike Gentiel, bassist Patrick McKenzie, and drummer Alex Lipshaw. Hey Monday was discovered after Pete Wentz of the band Fall Out Boy heard one of their demos at the Crush Management office and offered to sign them to his label, Decaydance. However, Columbia Records was also interested, so Hey Monday signed a joint deal with both labels. They released their first full-length studio album, Hold on Tight, in 2008 and shortly began touring with bands like We the Kings, The Academy Is…, The Cab, and This Providence. In 2009, Hey Monday toured with Fall Out Boy on their major U.S. tour and international tour, and then with All Time Low on the Glamour Kills Tour later that year. They have also released two EPs (Beneath it All in 2010 and Candles in 2011). This summer, they will be touring in Indonesia, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, and will be writing their second full-length studio album. To check out Hey Monday’s music, visit their Purevolume page.

  

To see more interviews from drug-free celebrities, visit Natural High TV.

What’s your natural high?

Shine by Plain White T’s

Shine by Plain White T’s
You know it tears me up inside
To see the feelings that you hide
Hide inside that empty bottle
I wish you saw how great you were
I wish you saw what life was worth
You wouldn’t have to hide your problems

And I don’t care what you might think
I think you’ve had too much to drink
Can’t even talk when you’re this way
Run away, run away
But that won’t make it any better
Run away, run away
And make tomorrow harder to live than today

There’s so much out there you could miss
There’s so much life out there to live
If you would just believe in yourself
You know you’re better than all of this
You know you’ve got so much to give
But you’re so afraid to give all of yourself

And I don’t care what you might think
I think you’ve had too much to drink
Can’t even talk when you’re this way
Run away, run away
But that won’t make it any better
Run away, run away
And make tomorrow harder to live than today

There’s a bright light shining inside you
It shines out through your eyes
Don’t drown it away, don’t be afraid, don’t hide
Let it shine
Ooh, ooh let it shine

You say you’re looking for happiness
But when it comes, you run away from it
You tell yourself you don’t deserve it
There’s not much more that I can do
Now the rest is up to you
Until you love yourself, you’ll never change

Run away, run away
But that won’t make it any better
Run away, run away
And make tomorrow harder to live than today
Run away, run away
But that won’t make it any better
Run away, run away
You’ll keep on running until you deal with today

To listen to more of Plain White T’s music, check out their Purevolume or visit their Facebook page.

If you or someone you know is suffering from alcohol addiction, please visit Alcoholics Anonymous or call the Alcoholic Hotline at 1-866-800-1369.

To Write Love on Her Arms

It all started when Jamie Tworkowski, founder of the nonprofit To Write Love on Her Arms, befriended a young girl named Renee who was struggling with addiction, self-injury, and depression. She was also suffering from the effects of abuse and had already attempted suicide. With cocaine fresh in her system, brand-new wounds up and down her arm, and no detox available at the treatment center, Renee was deemed too much of a risk by a nurse and was turned away from the center. For the next five days, she was taken care of by her friends until she could be admitted into the treatment center. For those five days, they served as a hospital for Renee and a source of moral support. They loved her, they cared for her, they supported her, and helped her on to the road of recovery through love, hope, and music. To help pay for her treatment, they designed and sold shirts and created a MySpace page for the project. Bands like Anberlin and Switchfoot immediately began to show their support by buying the shirts and wearing them on stage, and people struggling with the same issues as Renee began to send messages and comments on the MySpace page to share their stories and ask for help. Those messages made Jamie realize that it wasn’t just one person who was hurting from these problems; in fact, there were millions of people throughout the world dealing with issues like Renee’s. What started out as an attempt to just help a friend turned into something much bigger than that. It turned into a plan of action, a movement to help others realize that they are not the only ones to feel the way they do, that help is available, that things will get better.

To Write Love on Her Arms is a nonprofit organization that was founded in Cocoa, FL, by Jamie Tworkowski in 2006. Its mission is to present hope and find help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. It exists to encourage, inform, and to invest directly into treatment and recovery. The organization encourages people to honestly and openly talk about these issues and to build up a source of community filled with love, encouragement, support, care, and hope. To Write Love on Her Arms serves as a beacon of light for those who can only see darkness in the midst of today’s chaotic world and connects the broken people of this world as one to show them that it is okay to not be okay and that they are not alone, no matter how lonely they may feel. To fulfill its mission, To Write Love on Her Arm invests most of its expenses into treatment and recovery centers. The organization partnered with the Kristin Brooks Hope Center in 2009 to help launch IMAlive, the first online crisis counseling through instant messaging. To Write Love on Her Arms also works heavily in the music scene and has had a booth at every stop on the Vans Warped Tour for the past four years.

When I first heard of the organization To Write Love on Her Arms, I immediately knew that this was a cause I supported and believed in. It was the first organization that I saw working in the music scene and that inspired me to look into nonprofits and see what they were all about. I never thought of using music as a tool for nonprofits and I never thought that this organization would spark my interest in nonprofits and the possibility of working in the nonprofit world as a future career. Although working in other organizations, especially those focused on mental health and drug/substance and alcohol addiction, would be just fine with me, working with To Write Love on Her Arms has become one of my life’s goals and dreams. This organization entails all of my interests and passions: music and helping those with addiction and mental health issues. I hope that I will someday be able to have the opportunity and privilege of working with such an amazing organization, and reach out to others to help them turn their lives around for the better.

To learn more about To Write Love on Her Arms and read the story, visit their website or go to their Facebook. If you or someone you know is depressed and/or is thinking about suicide, please call Hopeline at 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433) immediately.

Rise Against + PETA

Rise Against is a punk rock band that formed in 1999 from Chicago, IL. The band consists of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Zach Blair, bass guitarist and backing vocalist Joe Principe, and drummer Brandon Barnes. They have released 6 studio albums, 2 EPs, and 2 DVDs. In 2008, the band was awarded the “Best Punk Artist” by the Rock on Request Awards, the American annual music awards run by the music webzine Rock on Request, and was awarded the “Best Animal-Friendly Band” award in 2009 by PETA. The members of Rise Against are known for their political lyrics and activism, and being vegetarians and active supporters of PETA/animal rights. In 2007, they endorsed a new line of vegan Vans Shoes in an effort to contribute to animal rights. Except for Barnes, the rest of the members also follow the straightedge lifestyle, which consists of abstaining from alcohol and recreational drug use.

McIlrath actively participates in PETA protests and even hands out the organization’s flyers and books at the shows. He and the rest of the band have given many interviews about animal cruelty and animal rights, and have appeared in PETA’s videos to express their beliefs on vegetarianism, the meat and fast food industry, fur and fashion use of animal skins, animal testing, and dissection. In one of the interviews about being a vegetarian, McIlrath puts it quite simply: “If we can make vegetarianism, veganism, work on the road, you can make it work at home. All four members of Rise Against, none of us eat meat.” To advocate animal rights and vegetarianism, their music video for their song “Ready to Fall” shows footage of animal cruelty and the destruction of our planet; that video can be viewed under the Videos tab. Their fifth album, Appeal to Reason, even included a PETA sticker, encouraging people to take a stance against animal cruelty and fight for animal rights. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was founded in 1980 by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco. It is an animal rights nonprofit organization located in Norfolk, VA, and is believed to be the largest animal rights group. The motto of PETA is: “animals are not ours to eat, experiment, or use for entertainment”, and the organization focuses on four main issues: opposition to factory farming, fur farming, animal testing, and animals in entertainment. PETA is famous for its aggressive campaigns and consumer boycotts; it is also well-known for its large celebrity support network, including celebrities like Pamela Anderson and Drew Barrymore. The organization has targeted large corporations such as Wendy’s, KFC, and Burger King, and their consumer boycotts have focused on Avon, General Motors, and more. PETA has also conducted numerous undercover investigations by sending their staff into a facility as an employee where they wear hidden cameras and take pictures and videos of the abuse. The organization has conducted investigations in research labs, factory farms, circuses, and slaughterhouses, and then released the footage they captured as videos and short films. They have also used this footage as evidence that these facilities are violating the Animal Welfare Act and have been able to assist in the charging of companies for violations or even shutting them down.

I had the privilege of seeing Rise Against with Bad Religion and Four Year Strong live in concert last month and I can honestly say that it was one of the best shows I have ever been to. Of course, PETA had a booth there to advocate for animal rights and support one of their greatest supporters. If the band is ever on tour in your area, I highly recommend going to the show. You will not be disappointed, I guarantee it. Rise Against has been one of my favorite bands ever since I was a young teenager, and I have always respected their ability to write meaningful songs and the courage they have to stand up for their beliefs. The fact that they are avid supporters of animal rights has made me an even prouder supporter of the band and their music because I myself am vegetarian and have been for 4 1/2 years. I am also the owner of four happy and healthy pets: a dog, two cats, and a bird. Wait, technically five pets now because my sister just adopted a cat from the shelter recently…..I have yet to meet him!

   

Growing up with animals has taught me that they are to be treated kindly and fairly, and being a volunteer at the local animal shelter all throughout my high school years made me realize that unfortunately, not all animals are given the love and care that they deserve. It made me realize that something needs to be done to end the suffering of animals and that I could do something about it. And that’s why I decided to go vegetarian. It’s healthy, there are tasty foods to try out, and best of all, it doesn’t involve killing innocent and defenseless animals. I encourage all those who aren’t vegetarian to just try it, even for a day. Think of all the animals you would save by choosing not to eat them. And who knows, maybe you’ll decide to go vegetarian.

Still a meat lover? Well, maybe this article about bacteria found in almost half of U.S. meat will make you change your mind.

For more information about PETA, visit their website or go to peta2.com to get involved.