young folks gettin sober, youre not missing out
 

I hear this a lot in meetings and read it a lot on SR. "I'm only 20 something. Its hard to imagine going the rest of my life without booze." I sobered up at 25 and thought the same thing. I felt that I was so young and it just wasn't fair because now id be missing out on so much fun. Let me tell you, the last 4+ years of my life have been better than I could have imagined. I had to smash the idea that by being sober, I am missing out on anything. In fact it is the opposite. I wouldn't trade this for the world.
For me, it took some work. I had to commit to the 12 steps and follow through with the actions they lay out for me to follow. The pay off is unbelievable. I am a happy, healthy, useful 29 year old. I have a great family, more friends than I ever had when drinking and I forget what being bored feels like. I still do all the things I used to enjoy. Concerts, ball games, hiking, camping, playing music, running. Hell, I even enjoy work.
The point I'm trying to make here is getting sober young is an incredible gift. If you take the necessary actions to get and stay sober, there is nothing you will be missing out on. The more effortt I would put into drinking the more I lost. The more effort I put into sobriety and being useful, the more I get. And there is no end to the rewards in sight provided I continue doing what I'm doing.
So lift your heads up young folks! Sobriety can be great!

I grew up in a world of abuse and alcoholism. I was determined to not be like that and never had my first drink until I was 32 yrs old. You know what I missed, absolutely nothing. I hung around with the "cool" guys, went to bars, stayed out all night, and chased women just like all the rest. And did you know that the sober guy actually does better in that last department then the drunk guy does. So if your drinking is causing problems never think that you're too young, or are going to be on the outside looking in. The trick is to have friends that accept you as you.

It really is heart warming when I see young adults who are
not drinkers...Hurrah for them...:cheer

I am 24 and the thought of not drinking again is scary. But I have had months of sober living, when my life was getting better! So I can see that sober life is better. This month I have three concerts to go to, a holiday in Scotland, and am not back at work until November. Missing out- I don't think so :)

Thank you for this uplifting post. I am older than you OP but I sure do feel like oh boy, I am going to miss out on the youthfulness of just letting loose and going a little crazy. I just have to think about where that attitude has gotten me-usually depressed, broke and friendless. NOt a good place to be in.

I knew I was an alcoholic even when I was in high school, 11 years ago. Had I let go of the drink then, I would remember my 20s... What a gift that would be!

I quit when I was 25 (4 months ago) and it's hard because it's still "socially acceptable" at my age to be a pretty normal drinker. I lost almost ALL of my friends, it's okay though. I'll have a nice healthy life while they are all drinking away in bars until they are 50.. I miss the social aspect, so I still go out to bars.. I just drink ginger ale.

I'm 25 and decided to quit and I don't feel like I'm missing out at all. I don't like drunk people, I never have really, towards the end I always drank alone so that I wouldn't have to put up with other peoples behavior.

Now that I'm sober what am I missing out on? I pretty much side stepped that whole party lifestyle from the start so I don't miss it and have no desire to be a part of it.

I wish I would have gotten sober sooner. Don't think I've ever heard someone say that they wished they had gotten sober later.

I went to rehab for the first time at age 14. I thought then I am way too young to go the rest of my life without drinking. I finally got it at the age of 21 almost 22. At the age of 21 the thought of never drinking again scared me, but the thought of me living the rest of my life like I was, was even worse.

I now have real friends. I am never bored. I am always busy either with my kids or my sponsees. Getting sober at a young age was a wonderful gift!!

I'm 24 and decided to quit drinking this year. The thought of not drinking ever again terrified me when I first quit... I was sad at the thought of not being able to drink at x, y and z, worried that I'd lose all my friends and be really 'uncool', boring and that I'd feel like I was missing out on everything. The reality is SO different. Everything I was scared of turned out to be an absolute positive. Being young and sober is wonderful... I get to do all the things (and more) yet never wake up with a hangover or say/do embarrassing things and have to apologise the next day. There is really no negative at all to being sober at a young age.

Im 27 turning in a few weeks. I've been very grateful so far being sobered. I've been able to hang with the few friends I have without the thought of wanting to drink. I can go out and enjoy my time instead of asking the next day if I said or did anything stupid. Its a money saver and I plan on moving out of my parents place again next year and t his time have m y head on my shoulders since I've been sober a year and a month now. Last time I moved out I had 7 months time which wasnt enough.

Sadly I am in progression of trying to move on my break up with my girlfriend of 10 months. She had been there from the start, I first met her when I first obtained 1 month. Then I wasnt looking for a girlfriend but as time went on I started getting curious, we would meet up for coffee and chat it up for awhile. We connected really well, she wasn't in to the party drinking scene, she enjoyed the occasional drink which was very very very rare and only ever had one and one was enough. As time went on we dated and went on our first date november 26th 2011 and fell in love. at 6 months I told her my past addiction and was afraid she'd leave me not understanding what I was. but she accepted. sadly I could still not fight off the fears of being replaced by another guy, I couldn't go out and drink and celebrations together she told me she wouldn't drink in front of me. She did everything for me to make me happy and I shot her down. I told her in our last fight that I believed she'd start looking for another guy at university , one who had intelligence since I work at a grocery store. It hurt her alot and she called it off on me 2 weeks ago. Im in a lot of pain right now but trying to manage. I am grateful to be sober today and that the urge to drink isnt here, but I know if I still drank... i'd be out there right now drinking like crazy and making myself an idiot by trying to hit on girls in the bar. I miss her alot. she was there to support me and I shot her down... but Im still happy I dont drink today. Im happy to be sober at 27.... alcohol took away 7 years of my young life in my early 20's

I'm on day 4 today and am already nervous about how i'm going to handle christmas and the party season but i'm determined to stick with my sobriety and your post has just reminded me that i'm doing this because I don't want to waste anymore of my life to a drunken stupor, thank you!

I got sober at 22 and that was clueless 22. All I knew was drinking and using drugs to the point of near death then picking up another drink and drug. I just turned 53 and the greatest gift in my life has been getting this when I did. Around where I'm from we tell newcomers "you're in for the ride of your life". I can't say it any better than that.

I'm 23 and only 8 days sober..got a long road ahead of me but I'll see you on the other side! =]

I got sober one month before my 18th birthday, I'm 52 now. You are 100% correct.

Good Luck! We're here with you! Stand up for yourself! Chin up! Take pride your doing something now instead of later! I respect your recovery so far! I remember my first 8 days! Keep in touch! We are here for you! Its great to know us young people are getting on our feet and stop drinking

I kinda feel bad for really young folks who join AA. I had a lot of fun in my late teen/early 20's. My life was like a beer commercial. I was going to very trendy clubs, joined a pool league, dancing ect.....Of course, fast forward 15 yrs & I am panhandling on the subway & drinking cheap vodka in alleys.

I'm 27 and began the road of sobriety last month. I've had enough crazyness and letting loose to last a lifetime. I've tried almost every drug their is, pushing the limits of my sanity, health, and life. I'm lucky to be alive and still healthy, and it feels so good to be free from addiction and active using. It's slavery and it really is true that when I remain sober life is exceedingly better than when I'm using. When I was using it was alone, nodding out watching netflix. When I'm sober I'm open to new experiences and get out there and force myself to exercise and go new places to escape the boredom.

I'm on day 20 and I feel and look fantastic. Even though my life is currently a mess and I'm not where I want to be in my life right now. It's comforting to know that as long as I stay sober I can have a good life without alcohol & drugs and use all that money I saved to buy my dream car, or travel, or buy a house. For me its' drugs/alcohol vs. my life. I can't have both and in the past I chose drugs /alcohol and always told myself I would get sober later and change my life then. Well 10 years later it is NOW time for me to follow through with what I said a long time ago. So what if I can't drink alcohol or smoke pot with people, that stuff was really overated anyways and never made me truly happy. In fact, towards the end it made me extremely miserable as I watched everything I love slip out of my alcoholic/druggie hands. Now, I'm down for sobriety for life.