I never in a million years thought I’d be sober but here we are. I started drinking when I was about 14 years old and it continued to be a staple in my life. Once my mother passed away in 2016, my drinking and partying hit an all-time high. I was not reliable; my life and emotions were chaotic, and I did not like or know who I was. So many things would happen when I would go out and it only made me feel terrible about myself and wonder why I couldn’t “be normal”. I’d always been curious about sobriety and how people did it but started to take that curiosity more seriously 2 years ago. I started joining sober communities, attending meetings, reading literature and learning more about what being sober. The turning point for me was leaving a physically abusive relationship. After that, I gave myself a chance. Slowly, I started to realize that I could make my life everything I wanted it to be! Slowly, I started not to enjoy binge drinking and partying and started to revel in the hangover free mornings, the increased weekend energy and becoming a more reliable friend and person. I recently celebrated 6 months since my last relapse and there was a time I thought that’d never be possible. My journey has not been perfect, but I am on it and I am thankful for that every single day.