One Month Challenge: Sober, Week 2

In this new series we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer for a month as she takes on a personal challenge. This month we’re following Lauren from University of Michigan. She’s going sober for the month of February and will be sharing her ups (like feeling great last weekend!) and downs with us each Saturday.

By Lauren

It’s official: I’ve been 100% sober for a full two weeks! (I’ve even opted out of using mouthwash!) While that may not be such a big deal to some people out there (ahem, mean commenters, ahem), I am really, really proud of myself. Especially after the week I’ve had.

My first week of this challenge was pretty easy, breeezy Cover Girl. The weekdays flew by and then I was back at my parents’ house, where the temptation to drink was pretty minimal. But since then, I’ve survived a steakhouse dinner without wine, a Super Bowl party without beer, and two very serious nights at the bar without shots, shots, shots, shots shots.

On Thursday night I hit a low key bar with a few friends. They sipped on some beers and I sipped on some Diet Cokes. We were all having a great time – talking, catching up, giving guys the eyes across the bar. I really didn’t miss drinking at all, especially when I only spent $3 the entire night (unlike beer and vodka, Diet Coke has free refills at the bar!). But it wasn’t totally smooth sailing; LMFAO came on the jukebox towards the end of the evening, which, as we all know, makes you want to drink. Or chug. I was starting to cave. I was having a hard time remembering why I was doing all this. Seriously, Had Ke$ha or Miley come on next, I probably would have had to run out of the bar screaming. Instead, I took a little sniff of my friends’ SoCo Lime shots, grimaced, and instantly felt better about my decision.

I woke up on Friday and felt great. Not only did I hang out with friends and have a great time, but I didn’t feel like total hell. And I was really proud and happy to know that I can indeed stay in the social scene, even if I’m sober. That knowledge made me feel good and took away my nerves for last night’s adventures.

Because while Thursday was a test, Friday night out with my crew is akin to a Bob and Jillian Last Chance Workout. Minus the sweat and the puking. OK, maybe just minus the sweat. These kids take their partying really seriously and know they can always count on me to do the same. They are the reason that I hadn’t made it home before 5am ONCE during the month of January. They are the reason I often do nothing of substance from Friday to Monday. They’ve perfected the art of peer pressure (by throwing a little Jewish guilt into the mix) and I didn’t know how they’d handle Sober February. Plus, how much fun could I have if they were wasted/dancing on tables/punching me (which the guys like to do when they’ve had a few…)?

But I wanted to hang out with them and I really wanted to see if I could handle it sober. So I went. We met up for dinner at 6:30… and I didn’t come home until 3 a.m. And I did it all without a lick of alcohol (even though my girl friend did offer to let me “suck her ice” out of her vodka soda… every time she had one). I drank water, I danced, I joked… I even took a shot. Of Diet Coke. Which my friend got for me so I didn’t feel left out when everyone else was throwing them back.

It was a seriously great time! I was shocked. I mean, I thought I would have fun hanging out with everyone, but I never thought I would have had as great a time as I did. I never even got annoyed by the drunk people around me; instead, I kinda enjoyed looking at the drunk world through sober colored lenses. And, seriously, Erotic Photo Hunt is SO MUCH easier when you’re not seeing double.

The best part of my night, though, was coming home, stripping off my skinny jeans (which are definitely feeling looser already!), and being able to close my eyes and go to sleep without the room spinning. Well, that and the late night pizza slice I picked up that I was able to actually taste, savor and enjoy. Mmmm mmm gooooood.