# drinking

I would say I was never much of a drinking person. Among my peers at school, I was one of the last people who tried alcoholic drinks. For good or for bad, I didn’t have many friends back then, and as a result, there wasn’t much pressure or motivation to start drinking.

I have never drunk to the point of not remembering what happened, but I can still remember two times when I went too far with alcohol.

The first one was at the graduation party after middle school (the end of the 9th year). It was the first time I was drinking, and I had no idea how much was okay to drink. Maks - an old friend of mine - was having fun with it and kept offering me more drinks :). That day I drank two cans of Revo and several glass bottles of Garage.

The second time was two years later. This time it was my high school graduation (the end of the 11th year). I was feeling really down during that period, and I couldn’t find anyone to support me. At the party, everyone seemed to be having fun and getting on with each other, while I was thinking that there were no people who wanted me to be there, so I just felt like an outcast. I’m not sure if “romanticization” is the right word for it, but I clearly embraced the role of a victim, non-stop drinking wine and awkwardly making a show of how I didn’t need anyone around me (while secretly trying to get people around me, lol). In the end, I barely reached home with the help of my parents, all while blaming them for not stopping me from drinking too much.

In August 2024, I decided to stop drinking. By that time, I was only drinking occasionally, but then I dropped it completely. My friend Dima came to visit me in Prague for his birthday with several of our friends. We had moments when we were drinking wine, but we also spent time hanging out completely sober. The difference in joy between these experiences was so negligible that I started asking myself what the point of drinking even was.

Now, it’s more about a principle. Even though I occasionally get the thought that a light drink could make this moment better, I just don’t buy it. I like the idea of being part of the small percentage of the population who are completely sober, and I like keeping things that affirm my healthy lifestyle.