Ronnie Earl / Sobriety Freedom
Drink whatever, whenever. Drink for every reason. Drink for no reason.
- Appreciate the nuances of each type of drink. Variety is the spice of life, but let’s face the facts. Ultimately there is only one goal. Put on a really good buzz.
- Maintain appearances to people so that they don’t think you are a drunk. Hide your drinking and the alcohol itself from the people you love most. Lie about it right to their faces. Promise to yourself and others that you will cut down. In the back of your mind, you know that won’t happen, but you need other people to be convinced that you are okay.
- Despite the hangovers, and getting sick, and feeling bad for what you did, always go right back to drinking. Despite knowing deep down that you have a problem, put off dealing with it, indefinitely.
- Quit drinking for a week, because real alcoholics can’t do that. Prove to yourself that you have things under control. After the week is over, you will realize that there is no point to making yourself suffer by NOT drinking. Actually, maybe you should wait to start your break another day. You deserve a drink today.
- Keep telling yourself that you are okay because you have a job, and because you don’t drink right when you wake up. You’re not a real alcoholic. You just need to power through it.
- Justify your drinking. There’s always a good reason. You had an especially rough day. You just need to get normal again. It’s Friday. It’s Monday. It’s Easter. Drink up.
- Enjoy yourself. Drinking makes you feel good. It helps you get out of your head. Drinking is fun. It’s just what we do. Relax. Take a load off and enjoy the company of others. The cheering. The laughter. It’s what we do.
- You’re not an alcoholic. That person over there, who keeps taking shots and talking loudly and crying in public, is an alcoholic. They can’t control their emotions. They really need to get a cab ride home. Not you. You’re not that bad. You’re actually a good driver when you’ve been drinking. You have the magic touch.
- You’ve got it under control as long as you follow the rules. Don’t drink until after work, with the exception of an occasional drink at lunch. Don’t drink at bars, or maybe just don’t drink at home. You decide. Just don’t drink all the time. Drink the allowable amount for today to get a good buzz and then stop. It’s okay that you broke the rule last night, just try to be better tonight.
- You are somewhat successful at what you do for a living. If you were a real alcoholic, you’d be unemployed, and single, and poor. You’d be riding the bus and sleeping in a shitty apartment with crap thrown everywhere.
- You probably could have done more with your life, but it is okay because you’re having a good time. You are enjoying life, at least as much as can be expected. Don’t beat yourself up about it.
- Make sure there’s enough alcohol wherever you go because you need it. Never mind that you seem to have a real need for it everywhere you go. Just make sure you don’t run out because you deserve to be able to drink whenever and however much you want. Just as long as you can still function and you don’t appear to be too drunk.
- You should go ahead and bring that extra bottle of liquor with you. It’s okay this time. You can work on cutting down later. Just make sure nobody sees your hidden bottle because they wouldn’t understand. They would get worried and you might get in trouble. Alcohol is really all you want or need to be happy in life. To drink and be merry. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
- Go get another drink. Eat, drink and be merry, and drink some more. It’ll make you feel super warm and fuzzy. Just remember that you only have so much left in the bottle and you need to make it last. Actually, try to find something else to drink and keep your stash as a backup. Maybe you can take a pill to extend the buzz.
- Ignore all the signs that this drinking thing is progressively making you unhealthy. It’s important that you be able to do this one thing. You will find a balance. All you’re asking for is to be able to continue drinking. That’s it. That seems fair.
- As long as you don’t get caught, you’re golden. You really need to stop communicating with people via email and text and social media when you drink. You’re starting to let on that you drink too much. Remember to move the bottle you hid under the sink when you get home. You wouldn’t want someone to find it.
- You’re doing okay, just keep your shit together. I know you’re tired all the time, but just keep pushing through. People in war don’t complain about being tired. You got this.
This is all you ask for. This one little thing. You deserve it. They can’t take that away.
Ronnie Earl
Ronnie is a recovering alcoholic who lives in Lawrence, KS. He’s been clean and sober since May 9, 2016.
Ronnie began a career in culinary arts in 1998 and has since moved to web and application development. His recovery blog—Sobriety Freedom—began in November of 2016 as a way to document and share his experiences with the 12-step recovery process. Ronnie’s first loves in life (before alcohol) were creating and listening to music, as well as reading and writing. He aspires to be more productive as an artist now that he is sober. He also hopes to find creative new ways to engage with the online recovery community using programming and web applications. One random trivial fact about Ronnie: He was one of the world’s first disc jockeys to broadcast live streaming radio on the Internet, from the studios of KJHK at the University of Kansas, in December 1994.