Year Two

My first drink of alcohol was in the winter of 2001, I was 16. I pilfered half a bottle of Old Crow whiskey that had been sitting in our pantry for the better part of a decade. My friend James's dad was out of town so me and some friends went there to spend the night. Each of us brought some alcohol and we were determined to get drunk.

I remember two things clearly. After we drank we danced, it was the first time I had fun dancing, the first time I was truly uninhibited. The second thing I remember was the insatiability of it. After that first shot of whiskey, I wanted another and another and another. After all the alcohol was gone I wanted more. I felt like my life had opened up and I had found the answer.

From that first moment on I could never have just one drink. I would do whatever it took to drink and keep on drinking. Long after friends had been satiated or gone to bed, long after last call or closing time, I would be on the hunt for that next drink. Drink until oblivion was my mantra.

Today is the two year anniversary of my last drink. Life has opened up. I'm free of that malignant and voracious thirst. The drink is no longer an ever-present problem. Now my focus is to simply live life on life terms. My problems are those we all share to various degrees: aggression, anger, anxiety, impatience, self-centeredness. The goal is to live a good life, to do the right thing, to live well.

Two years in I have an idea what that looks like.