Hope
I am a newcomer (again) but if I can share something with the other newcomers I hope that someone finds some inspiration.
If I had one wish it would be that I could somehow show you how good life can be. How all your fears about living an alcohol free life, how losing friends because you don't drink will be devastating, and how life is going to change and be boring are unfounded. If I could transport you, the newbie, down the road to what you have waiting for you and what's in store. It's a life of peace, calm, and goodness that you can't begin to imagine. Wrong to say that there won't be some bad times but how you handle and overcome them is a world of difference.
My one saving grace through this time is that I had the gift of experiencing 17 months of sobriety and had the chance to see how good my life could be. How I could actually have self esteem. How I could experience a reality that I never knew was possible. Additionally, to learn how I walked away from the greatest gift I ever had received simply by not paying attention. That's just how powerful alcohol is because it will lie to you and you'll listen.
What's making it so easy for me this time is not only the rock bottom that I have hit but the knowledge of what diligence and persistence is going to give me back. I truly wish you could see.
You can, you seriously can. There's a life out there that's far better than you can possibly imagine that's far better than anything that you could ever receive from drinking.
You have to find it for yourself. Part of it comes from the knowledge that you are fully capable of this. You are, I promise.
The next time you entertain picking up a drink come here. Do whatever it takes. There's so much waiting for you and continuing to drink is only separating you from experiencing it.
This gets better to a degree you can't even imagine right now, I promise.