Hi Jan, congratulations on making what could likely be the wisest decision of your life! I remember the first AA meeting I ever went to, seemed like mostly old men who looked and sounded (and smelled) like they were living on the streets, I wasn't like them...I then tried another location and a women's only meeting...again these women had criminal records and stories that I could not relate too..."I wasn't that bad"....heck I was just looking for new friends and these were not "my kind of people".... over the following 4 yrs I went wayyy downhill, sure I still had a job, a home, no arrests (mainly because I drank alone at home) but I was the most miserable drunken idiot and I hated myself and decided to end everything. Obviously I survived and ultimately found my way into another AA meeting and this time instead of hearing what I couldn't relate to I listened for what I could relate to. I found some of the stories from people that had been in and out of jail, literally living in the streets or in a car, from people that lied/stole/cheated to be the stories that hit me the closest; because it made me realize that "there but for the grace of God go I" and there was almost always something in every story, maybe just a small bit, that I had experienced and I learned from these people. Stay strong you will never regret not drinking.