Alcohol Soaked Emotions - Rethought

This partial blog entry was written by a friend of mine...it resonates with me as I've been thinking about this subject as well...

We’re all different, but for me – I had to accept that alcohol was either driving my social life, or it was sitting in the passenger seat giving me directions. I am not going to attempt to turn this into a tirade against alcohol, but I do think it’s a slippery-slope for everyone. Right now, I’m not drinking at all. I don’t have any current plans to do it again. I have the urge, and analyzing this urge has taught me some difficult things about myself. For the past several years, there has been nary an event attended or friend’s house visited, where alcohol was not present. I’ve asked myself this: at some point, did I start going places for the chance to do something, to experience something – or did I go there to drink and feel anesthetized? If I’m honest, it was the latter more than I’d like to admit.

Read the entry in its entirety here.

I won't pretend that alcohol does not pass my lips...social drinking has been part of my life since I stepped foot on the campus of my university in 1996 (for better or for worse)...I did learn early on that it is important even when addiction is not an issue to check in with yourself...because just like any mood altering substance overindulging can be damaging...I'm more afraid of being out of control than anything...and I've mentally given myself an ass whooping more than once...My brother died from substance abuse...drugs and alcohol damaged him and then killed him...How can I be so irresponsible with my life, my body, my future? 

Neither of my parents drank on a regular basis...in fact, I grew up Southern Baptist so drinking was mostly a looked down upon activity...devil juice that it is...so you definitely did not display it in your house just in case the preacher stopped by for a visit...which I think happened twice during my entire childhood but still you had to be prepared!  Even after my brother's funeral the wine was outside in the garage (Baptist bar, ha...things never change) and you had to know the secret code to get a glass or just not be from the church!  When it came time for me to decide if drinking was right for me - a friend of mine and I were walking at a park discussing our upcoming move to our respective colleges...the subject of drinking came up - we had this very a seemingly adult conversation about what kind of presence alcohol would have in our social lives...we both had decided to drink at college...even though we weren't 21, college was a good venue for drinking while our time in high school had not been...the illegality of drinking was a non issue (which is humorous b/c I am so afraid of being arrested).  We were really only concerned with not looking like a bunch of sinners! 

Flash forward almost 15 years later - As I get older, I find that I don't want alcohol to be my entertainment, my crutch for socialization...there is a whole big world out there and I don't want to spend it in a bar all weekend, every weekend...