I live near a lot of bars. It was one of the reasons why I chose my current apartment building - no need to Uber/Lyft or risk a DUI, there are at least half a dozen within walking distance, plus a liquor store. A story I've believed about myself since I started drinking heavily 10 years ago is that I LOVE bars, the dive-ier the better. If I'm walking down the street and get a whiff of stale cigarette smoke and liquor fumes wafting out of some dark watering hole the FOMO can be almost physically painful. This hasn't really been the case for me lately, which I'm really thankful for. My reasons for being sober are stronger than they have been in the past, but mainly it boils down to the fact that I no longer want to feel the way that "drunk" feels.

Anyways, I was scrolling through my photo gallery tonight and found a selfie I took in late August of last year. It was taken on the patio of my most frequented local bar, the place I'd think about to get through the work day - "Only 3 hours and 24 minutes, then you can unwind and be happy!" I'm sure some/most of you are familiar.

Here is a side by side comparison of me in my ""happy place"" of a year ago versus what I would currently define as "doing okay" - https://imgur.com/htHY90F. The whole "worst day sober is better than best day drunk" thing is a cliche that I've always found kind of annoying but it is such a relief not to have to deal with life on hard mode anymore.