Marking Milestones
Recently I just celebrated my 21st birthday. For most, turning 21 is a rite of passage. At 21 you can now drink with freedom. For me 21 looked a little different…a lot different! I always had a picture of what that birthday would look like. In my head it would be spent with my closest friends at some bar ordering fancy drinks. That fantasy is not a reality for me and never will be. I can’t use any substance whether it’s a drug or alcohol in safety. Once I completely accepted that, I was able to move forward and remove that picture of how I think things are supposed to be.
I know a lot of people who come into sobriety struggle with issues like that. “What am I going to do on my wedding day!?” “How can I go out with people who are drinking and not drink?” All these thoughts and many more have gone in and out of my mind and many others. The most important piece of advice I have gotten on those subjects is to keep it in the day. Yes, easier said than done, but someone broke it down for me so it was easier to understand. How can I let a situation that I am not even faced with at that moment consume me. I was 18 when I got sober this time around and, when it came to issues like my 21st birthday, I said to myself that I will deal with that when it comes 3 years down the road. Here I am, 3 years later, celebrating a day I had so much anxiety about.
For me, turning 21 was different and so much better than what I could have ever imagined. I was able to go to South Beach with my best friend. We stayed at a beautiful hotel and had perfect weather. I spent the day on the beach with the sun on my face. That night we went out to one of the nicest clubs in Miami. All of this we did sober. We laughed the entire vacation. Since being in sobriety I have been able to make so many memories (and actually remember them). I know that I can confidently enjoy the different milestones that will come up in life without a drink or a drug. I may not get the freedom of having a legal drink, but I live with a freedom that as long as I stay sober I will be able to continue living a full and exciting life! I will take that freedom over a drink any day. Life happens…Bring it on!
Have you had a time in your life where you thought it would be impossible to stay sober, but you made it through? If so what was it and how did you get through it? If not, are you fearful of any situations that may come up?