As we left off in Part Two with my Journey into Diet La La Land, I was living a lifestyle that I thought was healthy. I was in my mid-twenties, and if you had asked me back then, “Who are you, Ella?” I probably would have replied, “Number one, I’m an ethical vegan, and secondly, I’m into vegan fitness. I run the show at the Flamingo Athletic Club, managing employees, payroll, class schedules, and the personal training program. I’m a vegan trainer myself and spend a lot of my time practicing Muay Thai with my MMA crew and working out. I’m single and have an awesome group of badass friends who I go out with and party hard. I’m ‘living the life’ in South Beach!”

What I wouldn’t have told you, though, was that I had an underlying yearning to be doing more for animals than just living by example as a vegan. I was the only vegan that I knew at the time. This feeling that I was not living and working my true passion triggered subconscious angst as well as a constant feeling of being unfulfilled.