When I bring up my new found sobriety in passing to others, I often get the comments, “Oof! That sucks!” or “Good for you!” It goes either one way or the other, and then the topic is quickly changed to how someone got so messed up the night before or their plans to get messed up in the near future.

It makes me realize that my reaction to others’ sobriety was that of understanding and glad that they recognized that alcohol or drugs could be or were a problem, and that they ceased usage in order to better their lives.

But it’s not like my life ended when I stopped using cannabis or drinking alcohol. I have been busy with other endeavors that consume my time to the point where I don’t miss partaking in bar adventures or going to the local pot shop.

So that leaves many readers with the question, what do you do when you want to celebrate good news? How about when you hear bad news and want to sulk over bourbon on ice? Or how about getting messed up on an unremarkable day, let’s say, a Wednesday?

I know I struggled with this the day before once I received the news that I got accepted into university. I was craving a bourbon with coke along with the good news. Even though that’s what I wanted, I didn’t partake. So what did I do instead?

I made some calls to close friends and family before posting the news on social media. Then, I blogged. I am pretty sure after I blogged the news to my readers, I listened to music and went to bed.

I received my tax return so I ordered some food I was craving and bought enough for my parents too so we could all enjoy dinner together. I got the fanciest Italian food I could think of: Olive Garden. It was subpar at best but I didn’t want to cook and it soothed my cravings.

So, the question still stands: How does one celebrate or sulk without the booze?

The answer to that is quite simple; you just do it without alcohol. There was a point in your life that the world didn’t revolve around alcohol or drugs and it turns out that the world we lived in when we were in our early teens still exist and those fun things we did sober still exist. You can go out for dinner, do activities, go to bonfires, etc. and do that all sober. You can throw parties and sing karaoke without alcohol or weed. I mean, you must respect that others can or may want to partake in these activities and as long as it’s not problematic for you to be around it, don’t let that stop you from hanging around your “normal” friends!

I don’t feel as though I’ve been missing out without the alcohol or drugs. My mental health has improved dramatically and I am excited to see where I will go from here on this journey.