Welcome to Gaia! ::

Not sure if anyone is getting the point of this forum, and getting scared of the big locked introductions thread, but here you're allowed to post your own individual introduction thread, and this is mine. So let me tell you a little about myself!

My real name is Summer, I am currently attending college at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, on my way to attaining a BS in zoology. My career goal is to either start my own or be a part of a wildlife rehabilitation facility, dedicated to helping injured, sick, and orphaned wildlife and releasing them back into their natural habitats.

You might find it a little odd that your guild leader is not vegetarian, but rest assured that I have been vegetarian in the past. When I can get settled down, get a steady job, and am done with school (not to mention having more money to support a vegetarian lifestyle), I'll be going back to my old eating habits. Currently I eat little meat anyway (never has been my favorite food) and freaking LOVE the produce aisle. I did an internship in California almost three years ago and lived with vegans and vegetarians, and found a lot of awesome recipes I still use to this day.

Why did I create this guild? I'm an extremely open-minded person, and having been a vegetarian and planning to be one in the future, I noticed that the old vegetarian guild was well, dead (considering the captain was banned) and together with some straggler crew and members, migrated here and started anew. We've grown in size dramatically, thanks to awesome people like you that spread the word around that we're here.

I also try to keep the bias out of this lifestyle (PETA is probably my least favorite organization ever, it seems to scare some people out of veg*nism, not into it) and to educate people by their own will, not forced upon them. Links and information provided by trustworthy sources, as well as a supportive community, can make this lifestyle grow and grow and who knows what we can accomplish.

OK, enough rambling. In my spare time I love to Zumba, play video games, study, read, watch TV, or hike. I'm a tree-hugging hippy in short.

Glad to meet you all!

That's a good point. I'll do that, thanks. ^^

I absolutely love SIU! If you're the nature type, it's amazing. There's the Shawnee National Forest, Garden of the Gods, as well as surrounding camping/hiking areas like Giant City State Park, Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, and so many other natural marvels, like the bluffs and caves and things. Carbondale is a college town, so it's not really big, but it does have a vegan/vegetarian restaurant that is absolutely to die for, and a large organic store called The Neighborhood Co-op. If you like to go out on weekends, there are plenty of bars and things to do with some great local bands.

The university itself is pretty cool too, though the bureaucratic system within it is a little touchy. xD It it currently the only public college in Illinois that I'm aware of that offers a zoology program. A lot of professors in all majors are involved in some really cool independent research. It's a good institute, in my opinion. I might even stay in Carbondale after I graduate.

U of I in Champaign? I've been there a couple times; from what I understand that's the biggest college in Illinois, if I remember correctly... Carbondale is number 2! =D I'm originally from Springfield (visiting here this weekend actually) so I've seen most of central Illinois. You like it there?