About Me...
12/20/2023
Hi! I'm Salem Tillman, an animal activist devoted to animal welfare and environmental conservation, but there's more to me than just that...
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Of course, animals are a huge part of my life. Ever since I was little, I've always been passionate about helping them, and at just 10 years old, I understood that I couldn't possibly love them and eat them too, so I became vegetarian. A few years later, as I learned about the horrors of the egg and dairy industries, I took that passion a step further and went fully vegan. Since then, I've been dedicated to saving both animals and our environment through a plant-based lifestyle.
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Caramelo...my first guinea pig
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Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
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That's why I created Vegan Empire; to showcase the benefits of this cruelty-free lifestyle. Especially to combat the false belief that vegan foods lack flavor. That couldn't be farther from the truth! There are so many amazing vegan dishes that taste amazing, and here on my own blog, there are already over 90 of them! Sweet treats? Savory meals? Quick snacks? There's a bit of everything, like my personal favorites: a cheesy baked ziti, deceiving copycat "Sofritas," chewy chocolate chip cookies, and many more amazing creations! One thing's for certain; ditching cruelty doesn't mean sacrificing flavor!
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And though being an animal activist is the most important part of who I am, it's not my only feature. Aside from advocating for animal rights, I also enjoy participating in a wide variety of activities. Competitive rowing, world traveling, cooking, baking, gardening, writing, drawing, painting, knitting, playing piano, photography, and arts and crafts, are all things that I look forward to doing regularly!
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Even with all of these pastimes, my favorite is still undoubtedly competitive rowing. After all, I consider myself a "vegan animal activist and competitive rower." I joined the sport in July of 2021, and it was just after that first stroke that I knew that I'd finally found the right sport for me. It's challenging, both physically and mentally, but I've always managed to push through the pain and it's always been worth it! At my team's summer banquet in the summer of 2022, I was presented with the "Most Improved Varsity Rower" award. This past September (2023) I was even voted as one of my team's 2 co-captains, as I've worked my way up, trying to prove myself as a good rower! Mostly, I'm trying to prove myself as a good "no meat athlete"!
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My first single race at the Head of the Hooch (2023)
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Me surfing in El Salvador
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Competitive rowing is a relatively new activity of mine, but another that I've been doing since even before I can remember is travelling the world! It's a great experience to explore other places and try new things. So far, I've been to several destinations within the US, and numerous countries around the world, like El Salvador, Costa Rica, Peru, Italy, France, and many other destinations! From road trips to overseas flights and cruises, my favorite adventures are those out in nature, and I especially love going to wildlife reserves where the wildlife is free to roam about! My favorites are those where I get to see animals and enjoy the rush of adrenaline all at the same time!
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When it comes to writing, there's of course, this blog, Vegan Empire. Particularly the Wild Escapades section which is about my own personal experiences and adventures rather than recipes and facts. The truth is, that I hope to show others that it's still possible to have fun without harming any animals. From regattas that I compete at to my family's trips and parties, there's a little bit of everything there. Then there's also "Tibby the Friendly Shark," a picture book that I wrote and illustrated in the spring of 2020. I wrote it trying to inspire future generations to care for our planet and all the creatures that call it home, but unfortunately the timing of its publication was off, and so the book wasn't a success. However, I am now in the process of writing a few children's chapter books, and I hope to have those complete sometime soon.
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As for my other hobbies...
…there's playing the piano, painting, drawing, cooking, baking, knitting, and creating random crafts. Here on Vegan Empire you'll see plenty of my cooking and baking creations! Some were made with the help of my Mami, but most of the food I made myself. I regularly enjoy coming up with new recipes and perfecting old ones in the kitchen. There are some that I consider my specialties, like my mac & cheese, double chocolate minty marshmallow cookies, and French bread, which I make ALL the time! But to be honest, it's eating the final product that I enjoy the most ;)
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Double Chocolate Minty Chip Cookies
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A cropped version of my toucan painting
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Painting and drawing are something that I enjoy doing regularly. Sometimes I just like grabbing a paper and pencil and coming up with a quick sketch, but I usually keep adding details, so it ends up being a drawing that took several hours to create. Then there's my paintings that I mostly create for family and friends. I'm very critical of my artwork, so I'm never completely satisfied with my work, but during the Australian Bush Fires of 2020, I was able to sell some of them and raised around $300 for WIRES. Another one of my paintings, "Tortuga", managed to win in the 2020 "Nature's Wild Neighbor" art contest. So I guess they aren't all bad.
Knitting is another hobby that I picked up after teaching myself in 2020. I like being able to create something that's actually usable and being able to know that I made it. It also allows for some nice gifts for friends and family. So far I've made some scarves and even a cardigan (that was a challenging project). I keep trying to learn new projects and hope to keep improving.
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So,. that's a little bit about me! I'm not sure of what the future holds, but I do know that my adventure is just beginning, and I can't wait to see what happens next!