I'm very responsible, so I did manage to graduate in a major that was not so challenging.  During college I did not go home very often on vacations because I prized the freedom I had living at college.  In my senior year I started using cocaine which lead to heavier drinking.  At the end of college, I didn't want to give up my partying lifestyle, so instead of going back home and finding ajob, I made a reckless move across the country to Washington state, with a bunch of other alcoholics.  They weren't very nice people either, but we shared a common interest in drinking.

So I worked in various offices on a temporary basis, while committing most of my off time to drinking.  This is not the healthiest lifestyle.  I suffered from depression and social anxiety as a result.  This went on for three years.

Things became quite low for me and my parents finally convinced me to move home.  I wanted to continue drinking, not realizing I had a problem.  I thought drinking was just something I liked to do.  Finally they put enough pressure on me that I agreed to stop for their sake.  I didn't adjust well to not drinking and spent about 6 months lying in bed thinking negative things.  Finally God brought me out of that.  I read Bill W's biography and confessed my wrong doings.  I didn't really know the 12 steps at that point, but probably followed them intuitively.

After that I did very well.  The Lord really blessed me.  I went into a job training program and enjoyed that.  I got psychiatric treatment for depression.  Then I got a job in a restaurant and experienced a great level of well being.  I didn't even think about drinking.  I started writing about sports, which I love, for a hobby.  That kept me really engaged.  I have a good relationships with all my family members.

Then a five years later (many of you can relate), the Enemy started attacking me.  The enemy likes to attack your mind with lies.  I started believing I was not good, and not successfull, and alone, and that my future was bleak.  Anyway, to make a long story short, I thought my situation was so bleak I started drinking again.  I used to spend all day drinking at my parents home, alone and feeling depressed.  Then I would go out to bars for hours looking for people to talk to.  I couldn't control my desire to drink.  I did this everyday for about 9 mons when finally I couldn't take the guilt I was feeling about drinking anymore.

God has been so good to me however.  Then I looked up the twelve steps on the internet.  I went through them in a few minutes.  The only thing I cheated on was confessing my wrongs to another person.  I figured my parents already knew what I was doing wrong, so that covered that step.  (A couple years later I did finally confess)  I tell you, that very hour I lost my desire to drink.  The Lord set me free.

That was three years ago and I'm doing very well now.  God has me on a new path.  I will be applying to graduate school next year.  I'm studying for the GRE now.  I volunteer at a nursing home, and in a psychiatric research to gain experience for grad school.  I think my new career will suit me very well (psychologist).  I still have some challenges, but I have no desire to drink.  Maybe I'm different in that I don't go to meetings or counseling for drinking.  I consider drinking a thing of the past; just a blip in my young life.