Sober Snacks #18

Bite size tips & stories to help you not drink today. For the sober and sober curious looking for digestible, on-the-go sober-positive content. These are the stories and lifestyle tips of people who don’t drink. Enjoy :)

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

When asked “what can I get you to drink?”, you say:

I usually say, “Can I have a cup of tea, please?”

I love English tea but mint tea is my obsession. I’ve tried many different leaves and varieties — I’m even growing mint in my garden now so that I can have that real experience of fresh mint in my hot water.

If I’m at an event and tea’s not the easiest thing to stand and drink I will order a lime and soda.

During your sobriety in the last three years, is there a particular new belief or behavior that has greatly improved your life?

Now that I’m sober, I think that anything is achievable. I know that sounds quite cheesy and quite cliché, but it’s happening for me in real-time right now: I’m writing a book at the moment and it’s about sobriety and about my life. I’ve always wanted to write a book, but I always felt like I couldn’t, that I wasn’t good enough at school.

During my drinking days, I went off the rails a bit and I actually left school early. I think that really impacted my confidence when it comes to anything academic, like writing. Now that I have a new perspective on life and a new clarity about myself, I also have new confidence. I realize that, actually, I’m just as good as anybody else at writing.

I might not get a Lit award. That’s fine, I can still write the book. One of the mantras that I always use is to feel fear and do it anyway. I actually say it out loud.

When asked “why don’t you drink?”, you say:

I had a work event a few months ago. I was sitting next to my boss at a Spanish restaurant that only served water and wine — no diet coke, lemonade, or anything. I ordered some tap water, which I like, but it’s not really what I want to drink when I’m out in a Spanish restaurant. And he said, “Oh, are you still doing that thing? You’re still not drinking?”

I didn’t know how to respond because he’s my boss; it’s that sort of weird dynamic because you want your boss to like you and one way to make someone like you is to be like them. I do want to make my boss happy cause I like to have quite an easy life! But I don’t and don’t want to drink, so after catching myself feeling a bit uncomfortable, I said, “Yea, I’m still doing that thing”, and I tried to make a bit of a joke about it.

He said, “But seriously, what are you doing for fun?”

So I responded, “I do have better fun without it, actually” and tried to change the subject quickly.