Meet Steph!
Steph was born in Redmond, Washington and moved to SLO when she started to attend Cal Poly. In high school, Steph was big into her studies and her friends. However, high school is also where Steph was introduced to alcohol. Through school dances, football games, and house parties her and her friends were drinking almost every weekend. Her parents warned both her and her sister to be cautious of their decisions while drinking because their dad struggled with alcoholism until he met their mom. Keeping this warning from her parents in the back of her mind, Steph continued to partake in events that included alcohol all throughout her high school years. She noticed alcohol affected her personality and made her become someone she really wasn't. Her friends called her alter ego Victoria but she didn't even know Victoria, she couldn't remember her.
Steph came to Cal Poly ready to leave Victoria behind, she was excited for a fresh start. However, throughout her freshmen and sophomore year, she noticed that her blackout tendencies didn't stay behind in Washington like she had hoped. She found herself blacking out almost every weekend and drinking excessively at parties. She would wake up the morning after, hungover, without any memory from the night before. In the mornings, Steph often would take a pull from whatever leftover alcohol she could find and blame it on trying to avoid a hangover, but later on admitted that she did it to avoid feelings of shame and guilt from her out-of-control drinking habits from the night before. There was three-day benders, sneaking alcohol during week days to feel a buzz, and skipping school and work. Her drinking habits were getting worse each year.
In September of her junior year of college, Steph turned 21! Steph was so excited and started to go downtown with her friends and boyfriend and hoped with all of the growing up that was happening, she would grow out of her drinking habits as well. However, this was not the case. After a few months of going downtown followed by more blackouts, Steph decided to try something new. With hesitant and nervous feelings, she started seeing a therapist at Cal Poly. After a few months of trying to moderate her drinking habits with the help of her therapist, they decided it was time for her to give up drinking all together.
Getting sober isn't easy, especially for a newly 21 year old college student. There has been highs and lows and every kind of day in between. However, Steph has found joy in sobriety. Today, Steph is 11 months sober with her one year mark coming up. She has found happiness in things she used to neglect. She focuses on health and wellness and doing things that make her feel good again. There are some nights where it gets tempting but Steph has stayed on her new path and is the happiest she has been while here at Cal Poly. The benefits of staying sober overshadow any short-lived satisfaction drinking could have given her. Because ya know... IT'S FUN TO NOT FEEL LIKE SH*T!
Fun Sh*t Blog
Mock-tail Ideas
When Steph wasn't sober, her go-to drink was a Moscow Mule. Now that she doesn't include alcohol in her life, she uses this booze-free Moscow Mule recipe.
-1 oz lime juice
-1/2 cup ginger beer
-1 tbsp. maple syrup
-2 oz. sparkling water
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