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College Student Sober at 23

Old 07-19-2012, 11:28 AM
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College Student Sober at 23

Hello all,

I am new to the forums here and to the world of living sober. I figured this was a great place to start to meet others like myself that share a common bond of living the sober life.

A little quick information about myself and my story on the road to recovery. In the fall of 2008 I began college as a professional pilot major having never touched alcohol in my entire life. In a new state and city I did not know anyone at all and often spent the weekends in my dorm bored as ever. Eventually half way through my freshman year I began to hang out with a fraternity that I later became a member of in which my drinking began. It was harmless at first only some drinks here and there on the weekend, but by a year later I was drinking almost every evening. Not enough to get terribly wasted every time but somewhat. Another year goes by and I am eventually living in the fraternity house, school was not going well at all and I was consuming half a fifth of vodka every night. I was out of control and I knew it but was to scared to get help.

Finally a few months ago I had the scare that made me seek help. I had become ill one night with some food poising and decided that I did not need to drink that night. However as the hours ticked away my body began showing all the signs of a "chemical" alcohol addiction you could say. I had a fever, trimmers, vision problems, and a cold sweat. I have never been so frightened in my life (even more scared then flying through a thunderstorm solo). A few days later the semester had ended and I had gone home to the Dallas area for a few weeks before the summer semester had begun, but I had had enough. I confronted my father who happens to be a doctor and told him of my situation. He gratefully understood and was even proud of me for getting help, I then began to see the correct medical personnel and get on all the right meds to ween my body off alcohol.

Now here I am 2 months later and I am doing better than ever. I have a full time job at an airline training facility, I've lost weight, even got a new car! I am thankful that I am back on track to starting my career as a professional pilot very soon and will graduate sometime this year. It feels great to have defeated my demons, however I know this is a battle that must be fought every day because it will never, never end.

Anyways, thank you all for listening to my story, I look forward to enjoying all that there is to offer here on the forum. As well as meeting new people and sharing experiences with one another being that we are in this together.



Matt
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Old 07-19-2012, 11:37 AM
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welcome to SR Matt

cOngrats on 2 months
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Old 07-19-2012, 12:03 PM
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welcome to SR and congrats! to see the path your life was taking at such a young age is so amazing. you have been given an amazing gift. build a support network around you to help with sobriety and remember that you're not missing out on much. people tend to make a big deal out of drinking and making mistakes while your young like it's some rite of passage. bullsh*t. you don't need to make mistakes to learn from them. i'd rather learn from the people around me rather than make the mistakes myself. you get that from going to AA and hearing some of the oldtimers talk. i'm 31 and i've heard some real horror stories about what people have lost in their lives because of drugs and alcohol. i hear enough from people who have lived it to make me not want to walk that path myself. people talk about having to hit rock bottom before they can begin recovery. bullsh*t. i brought my rock bottom up to hit me and that's just fine. you don't have to lose everything to know that the path you're on is the wrong one. you've got the greatest gift. the gift of time. you're also going to be faced with a ton of temptations due to your youth. i'd recommend going to some AA meetings with a few grizzled elders there. you may not feel entirely comfortable at first but don't worry. they look fierce but they fonts of wisdom where alcoholism is concerned. remember that you don't need to drink to fit in. one of my favorite sayings is by a guy who gives money advice to people who are in debt. he talks about getting out of debt like we talk about dealing with recovery and alcoholism. it's hard work and you've got to make fundamental changes in the way you think and live. you've got to work it one day at a time. one of his favorite sayings is that "i'm going to live like no one else so i can live like no one else." for debt, it's about living on rice and beans and driving an ugly car until you're debt free and saving and on the right track financially so one day you're financially sound while people around you are still living paycheck to paycheck and living in financial fear because they lived foolishly while they were young. by making the right decision now, you're investing in yourself while you're young. the benefits you're going to reap if you keep this up when you're older are going to be absolutely amazing! you're already seeing the rewards. just imagine where you could be years from now if you keep making these wise, mature decisions. let the people around you make the mistakes and learn from them. keep up the good work and congrats on two months! you've got the makings of an amazing future.
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Old 07-19-2012, 01:19 PM
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Welcome! Congrats on 2 months.. You made such a great choice.
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Old 07-19-2012, 02:33 PM
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welcome FlyGuy
great to have you with us - congratulations on 2 months

D
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Old 07-19-2012, 02:42 PM
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Congrats . Now do what I didn't do and stay sober . Lol
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Old 07-19-2012, 07:17 PM
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Congratulations to you, FlyGuy, and well done on the two months. It sounds like you are well positioned for a happy, serene and fulfilled life, you know the kind, the one without the booze.

It feels great to have defeated my demons, however I know this is a battle that must be fought every day because it will never, never end.
It doesn't have to be that way, Flyguy, it doesn't have to be a daily battle. There are other ways of dealing with addiction, you see. Check google for 'airline safety' and AVRT for another point of view from a commercial pilot.
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Old 07-20-2012, 06:45 PM
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Thank you all so much for the replies and advice! It means a lot to me and makes me feel like I have made the right decision to be on here. I hope everyone has a great weekend!
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Old 07-20-2012, 06:48 PM
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Welcome FlyGuy,

I'm glad you made the decision to live a sober life, and it's great that you've joined us.

We do understand.
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Old 07-20-2012, 07:13 PM
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Welcome FlyGuy!

Congratulations on getting sober. I remember telling my parents - that was really tough, but I was so glad to have their support. Glad you found this forum - it's a great place!
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Old 07-20-2012, 07:27 PM
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Congrats and thank you for sharing. Though I relate and appreciate all stories, as a 25-year old, I really relate to hearing stories from other 20-somethings being sober.. it gives me hope!
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Old 07-20-2012, 11:22 PM
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Originally Posted by MsSola View Post
Congrats and thank you for sharing. Though I relate and appreciate all stories, as a 25-year old, I really relate to hearing stories from other 20-somethings being sober.. it gives me hope!
That is one thing that I am quickly learning is that 1. I am lucky for having gotten sober at such a young age and 2. there are not many people in they're 20s that have gotten sober, small club lol.
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