This morning was a bit more unusual than your average Monday. Back to work after a good weekend, yes, but for me also, I woke up knowing that I drank nothing the day before.
It may seem that I am being overtly dramatic here, and I am certainly not trying to be, but this was the start of my 6 month challenge to give up alcohol completely. With my lifestyle, I see this as probably the hardest thing I have yet faced, and I would like to quickly explain why...
About a year and a half ago, in my last year of uni, I was reflecting back with friends over coffee on times in Durham. Somebody jokingly made a comment about me probably being too drunk to remember any of it... and that point stuck. Alcohol had given me some great moments, but also some dramatic lows. The latter still haunts me today. Even so, in my last 6 months at university, I carried on boozing... with similar effects. Indeed, this carried over into my summer and at my new University, Southampton.
12 months later, as I was walking to work, my friends quip came back into my head. I am no alcoholic by any means, (I have seen very close family members and friends go that way) BUT, I started to wonder if I was dependent on drink to be social and how much it was shaping my relationships with others.
The next 6 months of my life, seeing friends at Southampton and around the country should answer this question. How much do/did I need drink to have fun with my friends and family? Is this a healthy thing? How will people react to me being sober, and how will I react to them? Will I be any richer by the end?!
My only hope is that, I can sit in February next year knowing two things:
1. I come out of this a stronger, better person.
2. I have raised loads of money for Oxfam.
So on that note, don't forget to sponsor me, and thanks to those who already have.
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