—Quote (Originally by stickydate)—
I was craving freedom (and dairy) so badly, that I did it. I think it was an important thing for me to do. It was this experience that made me re-think giving myself a label. The label means following rules – and rules are made to be broken. I realised that I just wanted to be me – being me gives me the *choice *of how I want to live my life, whereas being a vegan commits me to never eating animal products. This makes the food more mysterious and tempting. Now that I am “allowed” to have them in my mind, I find it less appealing. And if you really want to have them, it isn’t a crime. Nobody is perfect and as long as you do, to the best of your ability (and that is different for everybody) to reduce the suffering of animals 
—End Quote—
(I know this was posted two and a half years ago but I’m sure this comes up in people’s minds so I’m voicing my opinion.)
The label of “vegan” is something that comes with the way you choose to live your life. It is not something you apply to yourself and follow strictly. It is not a group with a strict set of rules or an exclusive society that accepts applications. It is a title given to people who follow a certain lifestyle by their own accord. If you feel that you cannot go on without having an egg produced from a chicken (or another animal product) then, frankly, you are not vegan. You are very close but your are not 100% vegan. You may still call yourself vegetarian, but vegetarianism and veganism are two different things.
My roommate is vegetarian and I am vegan. I see her eat eggs and I cannot understand why she sees that as OK. I am against the use of animals for human consumption. As such, I refuse to consume anything that was derived from animals. This bestows upon me (whether I choose/like it or not) the title of ‘eating vegan.’ It is not my choice to have this title, nor is it anyone else’s. However the word is in our vocabulary and it definitively describes the way other people on this forum and I live our lives.
If you can find it within yourself to not eat/use animal products ever again then you happen to fall into the category of a “vegan” lifestyle. You can call yourself whatever you want. But this forum is solely for people who are vegan. We see the unnatural human consumption and use of animals as something that is wrong, and we refuse to participate in it. Therefore we fall into the category that humans have created called “vegan,” and you do (or ‘did’ if you have changed since then) not.
It does sound harsh, and I thought so when I read the first comments after I switched. But after finding in myself that every time I see a product that is derived from animals and being deterred from purchasing such item for that exact reason, I now see from where this argument spawns.—Enderbean
