Three Years Of Living Life Without Alcohol

Today marks three years of living life without alcohol.  To some, that doesn't seem like a big deal but for me three years ago, it was something I didn't think I could do.

In some ways, three years went by pretty quickly but there were days when it felt that time slowed down so much that I could hear the seconds tick in my head.  I am grateful for the life I have today and wouldn't trade it for anything.  I am very fortunate to be healthy and have friends and family that love and support me.  I wrote about why I quit in the first place on this blog which seems like such a long time ago.  Looking back, I do wish that I journaled more about how I was feeling and what thoughts popped in my head.  Mostly for me, drinking was a way to escape a problem or it was used as a reward that quickly turned into a habit.  What do you do when you get together with friends?  Drink.  How about when someone gets married, you land a promotion, or you get a divorce?  Most likely, there is drinking involved.  I would say that in my social circle, alcohol was included in every gathering.  I didn't have any friends who didn't drink.  I'm sure if I did, I would question why they weren't drinking.

I am a few years out of my "firsts" and I have to say that I've changed a lot since then.  It's not just about having soda or water instead of a cocktail.  It's an entirely different thought process you have and one that doesn't change quickly.  I used to plan my life around alcohol.  Meaning, I would be sure that I wasn't driving or that I was staying the night if I planned to have cocktails.  It might seem hard to believe but I am a shy person.  A lot of the drinking was to have a couple of glasses of wine to take the social anxiety edge off so I wouldn't be so nervous and afraid to make chit chat because of my insecurities.  My brain thought that I would be boring or not fun to be around if I wasn't laughing and cracking jokes all of the time and being the one who entertained.

To me, life is so much more fulfilling when you're not spending most of your time drinking, thinking of when you are going to drink or numbing out in some fashion.  When I first quit drinking, I had to figure out what to do with all of the time I spent during happy hour or the hours the next morning trying to forget the pain, or trying to remember conversations.  It was during this time when I picked up a camera and I haven't looked back since.  Now it's a rare occasion when a day passes by when I don't take a photograph.  I am still a bit hard on myself and my personality is still the same, it's just that my head is clear now. I am not perfect, it's just that I am now living life the best I know how while working on being a better person in the process.

I write about my experiences with photography, travel and even alcohol because it's just my story.  Everyone has their own path and I wanted to be honest about mine so people understand that things can be possible if you want to make a change in your life, no matter what it is.  Sometimes with great challenges come great rewards.  I dont want to sound corny, but I know that to be true for me.

If you are searching, I hope you make a change or a decision that will change your life for the better.  It might not feel like it right away, or even for months but small steps do count.  If you stick with it (whatever it is) long enough the rewards will come.  For me, that decision I made for myself was 1,096 days ago and each day I am thankful that I made it.

Earlier blogs about what it was like to quit:
The first 150 days
One year of living life without alcohol

One Year Of Living Without Alcohol

A year ago today I woke up exhausted. I spent the weekend with some friends in Palm Springs and the moment I woke up that morning, I knew that I couldn't live this way anymore.

I was tired of the party. Tired of being tired.  Tired of having a great time, only to feel horrible the day after.  It was time to do something about it.  I decided to live my life without alcohol.  Most of my social interactions with friends involved having glass of wine or a meet up with a cocktail.  It's the stress reliever for the end of a hard day, a toast to celebrate an achievement, the relaxer curled up with a book or bath, a compliment to a nice meal, and the list can go on and on.  Have a bad day? Let's go out for a drink! Did you do something you are proud of? It's celebration time with some champagne!  You get the idea.

When I decided that I had enough, there were always doubts in my head and I am sure there were doubts with some friends that thought I couldn't do it.  The thing I had going for me is that I am pretty competitive so I wanted to "win," so to speak.  I didn't want the doubts to win or the doubters to give me a, "I didn't think you could do it" thought.

As far as roads go, this wasn't an easy one to take.  However, over time it's the best decision I have made.  I've learned a lot over the past year.  I don't talk about it much here since I don't want to bore you with the details and there are much more interesting things to blog about, but I did write about my experience for the first 150 days HERE.

I would have to say that one of the hardest parts about this decision is the social aspect.  People like to come together as a group and have a glass of wine and that is perfectly normal.  I have been the odd one out on many occasions and it's difficult for me because I want everyone to feel comfortable around me and at the same time, I don't want to be a bore to be around.  At first I received a lot of questions and drilling on my decision not to drink.  All I wanted to do was fit in and not be noticed.  This wasn't the case.  At the beginning I drank a lot of sugar free red bull and everyone loved telling me how that was going to kill me, as they sipped their cocktail.

What a difference a year makes.  I am thankful for the opportunity to live this life and feel everything there is to feel. It truly is a wonderful life.

In case you on the fence, here are 11 Benefits of not drinking:
1.) You remember conversations from the night before
2.) Savings of about $5,000 a year or more (alcohol, bar food, aspirin, etc.)
3.) I lost 35 pounds (say good bye to your booze boobs)
4.) You will strengthen your relationship with the people that mean the most to you
5.) You get to go anywhere you want at anytime without thinking, "who's going to drive?"
6.) You will gain a sense of freedom that you never had before
7.) The possibilities in life are endless
8.) You will have meaningful conversations with people and attract the good ones into your life
9.) No regrets and no apologies from when you did something or said something while intoxicated
10.) You will do things you didn't think about doing before
11.) You won't be so tired all of the time

So, it's just me.  The same me. I am still plugging along here in this life and soaking up all of the moments and sharing them here with you.  I look forward to the next adventure.  Thank you for all of your support during my continued journey.  Oh yeah, I picked up my little point and shoot camera and took some pictures in the last few months.  You can see some pictures HERE. I hope you become a fan.

A big thank you for all of my family and friends that supported me on this decision.  Now it's back to dreaming of an airstream life. I look forward to sharing more soon.