Romanticizing Alcohol

My twenties marked an era of drunken romanticism that some people never escape from. Nearly every selfie I took during that decade was with a glass of wine in hand. My identity was Wino, and I was proud of it.

And why wouldn't I love being a drunk? After all, alcohol made me feel good. It made me forget. It helped me overcome my social anxiety. What was bad about that?

Turns out, depending on alcohol to feel good, to numb yourself to the world, and to socialize with other human beings is not only unhealthy but incredibly dangerous.

Being a Wino wasn’t romantic, it just helped me hide from the world and from myself for a very long time.