I graduated two weeks after the call with my mom, and I stopped drinking and smoking and went to my first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting on May 12, 1996. I wasn\u2019t sure if I was an alcoholic, but during my teens and twenties my partying ranged from \u201cshe\u2019s fun and wild\u201d to self-destructive. And, I was and still am a believer in the adage, If you\u2019re asking yourself if your drinking is problematic, then, at the very least, drinking is probably not serving you. And, if you\u2019re scared shitless that your life won\u2019t make sense if you stop drinking, find a friend to take you to a meeting and\/or reach out to a mental health professional. Consider what type of behaviors are beyond your boundaries for you.<\/p>\n
In other words, success is the blissful absence of all of the devastating consequences of a previous drug or alcohol habit. When we asked our alumna to describe what being sober feels like, she gave a detailed and inviting description that captured these key points. Sobriety turns mornings from something you dread into parts of the day you can actually look forward to.<\/p>\n