I did the thing, guys. I went to university. I got a degree. And I found myself in a job in a completely different field.

I'm a proper adult now with a nine to five(-thirty). I work on a Windows desktop (*cries*). I shuffle to the office kitchen to make myself a tea. And I'm fortunate enough to really enjoy what I do and the people I work with. But the first couple weeks adjusting to a new routine took a toll on my body like I never could have predicted.

I remember having to wake up for high school, my first lesson starting at 7:45. Then university9am was the worst it could be, there were breaks in between most days, and sometimes I could even squeeze in a midday nap in my dorm (how cool!).

So there I was, brain excited to do all these awesome-woo-proper-job tasks and my body like hah cute nice try but nope.

Pretty much everyone has their thing. Their cause. Their crusade. Striving to switch to cruelty-free cosmetics became that for me this year.

I've been a vegetarian since high school but I never considered myself a shout-it-from-the-rooftops animal activist. Obviously unnecessary harm to a living, feeling creature — bad. Not a fan. But you also won't find me spending my free time at a petting zoo. And if there's a spider in my room, I'll be cowering on the other end of the flat until someone chucks it out the window.

I have total respect for the people at that do actively fight against animal testing. And I mean the shouty, getting arrested (maybe not paint throwing but to each their own) activism. What I do want to say is that you don't have to strap yourself to a tree facing a bulldozer to make a difference in the world.