*The pounding of my head wakes me up before the alarm. I'm wearing clothes in bed, which means that someone must have dressed me, and my hands and elbows have bandages on them. A familiar confusion fills my bedroom as I slowly stumble outside, where my roommates and beacons of reassurance, sit in the kitchen. Emily laughs as she tells me that she bandaged and clothed me before bed. She tells me that I was trying to dance with people on the two block walk home from the charming Normal, Illinois trailer/bar and fell and hit my elbow. "You didn't do anything THAT embarrassing though. It could have been worse." I slowly make my way across the street to get a full pizza for breakfast. My metabolism still hasn't completely betrayed me yet so I decide to wander into my favorite Greek spot for good measure."Good night?" the owner asks, chuckling and pointing at my bandages. "21st birthday," I say both sheepish and proudly. "Free fries for you!" More reassurance for mere survival! I walk upstairs and share my birthday feast with Amy. I sit there, as I did on most mornings in college, attempting to recount the events of my evening. As a last resort, I scroll through my digital camera to find photos from the evening to clarify the details.  

Through bites of greasy Papa John's, I find myself spouting what I now know to be one of the greatest lies we tell ourselves, "It's fine, I won't drink after college." 

I recently took a month off from drinking. I know to some of you, this might not seem like a big deal, but for me it surely was. Most of you who know me well, or hell, have met me once, know that I quite enjoy beverages of the alcoholic variety. I have always wanted to give up drinking for an extended period of time, but something always gets in the way.  

Attempting to stop drinking is worse than trying to come up with excuses for not breaking up with a shitty boyfriend.

"Oh I know he's poisonous but, I can't break up with him on his birthday, or Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, his dog's birthday, or on Friday. He loves all holidays, Fridays, and just...days!" 

Alcohol loves Fridays. He loves Saturdays more. I think his favorite day usually falls when I am supposed to be up extremely early the next day to blend in with the functioning members of society. I'm sure that most of you can relate to the fact that there ALWAYS seems to be something getting in the way of us completely cutting out booze. It's so ingrained in us---in society as a whole--as a way to let loose, make new friends, to have fun, to celebrate birthdays, to avoid awkward situations, to catch up with friends, to ease the pain of a break up...the list goes on and on. 

So why stop drinking for a month? Beer is so delicious and makes everything more fun!

There was a day in early August when I realized that nearly every single thing that I had done over the summer involved alcohol. On that particular day, the words, "I won't drink after college," kept poking me on the shoulder. It was hard to think of a few days, let alone a month, that hadn't involved alcohol in some form. I wanted to make an honest woman out of my 21 year old self, if only for just 32 days. In no way was I setting out to stop drinking all together; I just wanted to take off the drunk goggles for a bit.

While I didn't lose 20 pounds, get perfect skin, and magically grow all of my brain cells back, I did observe a few things during this month of abstinence...

*People are usually supportive and inquisitive when they realize you aren't drinking

After the initial shock, my friends and acquaintances were pretty supportive of the whole no booze thing. 

Everyone wants to know why. I kind of wanted to make up a really horrible story, but instead I just spoke the truth. "I'm just challenging myself to see if I can do it." Many people actually said things like, "I want to try that too" or "I tried that once and it didn't work." To this I always said, "If I can do it, you can too." 

*It's harder to deal with people who are annoying AF 

During one weekend, I was at a baby's party and there was a particular person there that I have never been able to stand. He is chauvinistic, sexist, and probably voted for Donald Trump. He is the kind of person that you can't really avoid at a party because he constantly dominates the conversation. Whilst listening to him talk, all I could think was, "I want a beer. I want a beer." Instead I gulped down soda water and fruit like there was no tomorrow. I conversed with people that I actually enjoy and left when this particular individual got too drunk to ignore completely. 

*Saying "No" to things is OK...

This was probably the most important observation. I've always had a really hard time saying "No" to most things. They don't call me Yessica for nothing (or maybe it's because some people have accents). My FOMO is usually just too strong to say no. During the month of hell sobriety, there were just some things that I avoided because I simply didn't want to be there without my buddy, Alchi Hol.

I know this sounds bad, but I'm sure you can relate in some way (unless you're like my dad and have never had any alcohol in your life). During this time, I was more conscious about how I spent my free days.  I tend to exhaust myself with activities during the weekend and leave no time for myself. I took so much time for myself that it felt unnatural. 

*...but I was bored a lot of the time 

I know what they say, "You're not bored, you're boring." But, listen. Those people have never been sober while living in Ho Chi Minh City. 

I still went out with my friends while they were drinking, but soda water is kind of lame and doesn't taste as good as beer. I left the parties earlier, was more conscious of my decision making, and watched drunk people in horror while thinking, "Do I always do shit like that?" (The answer is 100% yes). 

*Dating is harder

Joke's on you! This one is fictional as my dating life in Asia is non existent. However, if I was going on dates, I'd imagine it would be a hell of a lot harder without a few drinks to calm the ol' nerves. Let's be honest, we don't need dating to be anymore gut-wrenchingly terrible than it already is. I just did a pretty eye opening mental scan back on all of my "romantic" encounters since high school. Now you try. How many of them involved some kind of alcohol? 

Yep. That's what I thought. Me too. High five, bro. 

*Sleep is glorious

This is true with or without booze, but I found myself sleeping more and deeper without alcohol. I left parties earlier, so I got more sleep. It's not rocket science.

I want to make sure that I clarify that I am not trying to throw major shade on alcohol here. He's society's most beloved social crutch. I know he's great in moderation, he has started some of my favorite friendships and relationships, and always makes me better at karaoke. 

I enjoy drinking. It's fun and there is nothing like the taste of a good beer with friends. I have decided that I am just going to make an effort to be a more conscious drinker. There is a very fine line these days between "just having a few drinks" and actually being a problem drinker. Society and the media makes it really hard to distinguish this as well. Mass consumption of alcohol is completely normalized in our society. Every time we wake up with a pounding headache and regrets, we can slowly push on our phones to see a meme that tells us that everyone is in the same, hungover boat. 

Memes are the reassuring college roommates that we seek after every night out. 

I am just sharing my story in case you have ever wanted to stop drinking for a week, two, or even more. Honestly, if I can do it, anyone can. Just try and see how you feel. Or don't. Whatever works for you. 

But...with the way things are going, maybe we should all just cut our losses and drink until North Korea decides to launch those missiles. 

Just kidding, do what you want. Just know that you can and I support you either way.