Dear Sober Abbi is a millennial’s celebration of sobriety beginning in 2016. As of this post, Abbi is 204 days alcohol-free. She’ll be answering your questions about navigating social settings, crises, and pretty much anything else.

By Abbi Wilt
July 22, 2016
Kathrin Ziegler / Getty

If you've ever experienced summer in the United States, chances are that you, too, have been bombarded with more alcoholic advertisements that you can imagine. Every time I turn on the TV, I'm met with a beer commercial, and it seems every restaurant offers half-price margaritas at Happy Hour, and every website shows me which boozy cocktail popsicles I need at my garden party. The alcohol is everywhere. Plus, the weather is forty shades of way too hot – i.e., perfect for piña coladas. So, summer is a season full of temptation for us sober folk. That's my current battle.

When I began my journey in the winter, I had no anticipation of continuing for seven months. I just wanted to try it out and see what happened, and, strangely enough, I haven't missed it at all.


So, in honor of the last post in my Dear Sober Abbi journey, here are ten things I've learned while being sober:

  1. People who are really your friend/worth being friends with won't care if you drink.
  2. You're going to have a lot more energy on Saturday morning when you're not nursing a hangover.
  3. Driving home at 2 a.m. is much less scary when you know that all you've consumed is a Diet Coke with lime.
  4. You can do tons of things that don't involve alcohol. At bars, even. I think my billiards game has become much stronger.
  5. It's okay to give up alcohol for six months and see how it feels and then change your mind. You don't have to go for 20 years.
  6. I can't lose weight when drinking is part of my lifestyle. I always wondered why I struggled so much with feeling healthy and staying fit in college, and I think I've found my answer. It was the booze holding me back.
  7. Mocktails can be as wonderful as cocktails. Case in point: I went to a music festival a few weeks ago and drank the best piña colada I've ever had.
  8. Drinking is muy expensivo. I have easily saved over a hundred dollars by not buying an alcoholic beverage every time I went out.
  9. You can fix bad days without alcohol. You may actually find some cool stuff out about yourself when you replace your daily night cap with something else that makes you happy.
  10. It's much easier to stay true to your journey when you've got an army of support behind you. Don't keep it to yourself – share your highs and lows with people you love. You'll be able to go much farther.

I hope your journeys are as sunny as mine, friends! Happy trails.


Sober Abbi