It feels good to be liked by people for who I am. That's one amazing thing I've experienced since getting sober and taking on a part-time job. It's really the only time I've been around a large amount of people since I quit drinking, and none of these people knew me as a drinker. Also, it was after two years of sobriety when I started the job, and so I'd had plenty of time to grow into my sobriety by that point.
It just feels really good to know that I'm thought of highly by average, everyday people. That means so much to me. I don't take it for granted, and I don't take it lightly.
This might be one of those things some people did naturally before recovery, but I was never one who enjoyed being around people. I'm introverted, and so it's always been quite a stretch for me to relax around others. I'm not stress-free around people by any means, but I find myself enjoying people for the first time in my adult life. I remember enjoying getting to know people in college, but things went downhill quickly after graduation. So, this is really nice.