Alcohol has always been a weird topic to me. Not a taboo in any way - I mean, I still remember the looks I got when announcing the theme of my term paper in front of the whole group: "Alcohol in Ancient Egypt" 😁 Surprisingly, I got one of the highest scores.
However, it's never been an easy subject, at least not within my family. At the same time, I have never had a bad experience with alcohol myself - only funny moments, stories of which I have shared with friends and some of them even with my daughter. So I thought it would be a great challenge to tackle this particular topic from this week's choices. And what better way to do this than by looking inward, reflecting on my encounters with liquor.
It all began in my early childhood. I remember being 4 or 5 years old, running around the table at dinner time, asking my grandpa to let me taste the wine the adults were drinking at the table. He made his own wine at home, which is something very common in Bulgaria. His special little twist was that he was adding lemonade to kind of dilute the alcohol. The taste I remember from my childhood, and the one I've never found in any other type of wine I've savoured, was very sweet, rich and fruity. Very similar to sangria but at the same time not. And maybe it's the memories I associate with it which made me love it. Whenever there was wine at the table, I knew there would be laughter, good times and lots of silly jokes my grandpa loved to tell us. He was always very serious during the day but as soon as it was dinner time, he instantly became the heart and soul of any family gathering. He used to say that wine calmed him down. Years later, we understood the sugar in the lemonade/ wine mix apparently helped him manage a very serious condition.
Unfortunately, the situation with my dad was a tad different. His troubles with alcohol have always been there, as long as I can remember. He loved drinking rakia, scotch, rum...But no matter the drink, alcohol seemed to amplify his flaws. He'd become very anxious, he'd start spitting out insults "as jokes", he'd become physically violent...A man who's active, funny and such a hard worker transformed into his worst self with just a few sips of alcohol. I love my dad - when he's sober, he's the greatest man alive: caring, sweet and always there to help anyone in need. But seeing this change in him really wired my brain to avoid hard alcohol and getting drunk for years to come.
But, like I mentioned earlier, I do have my stories (as we all do). The first and only time I got drunk, I was about 22, 23 and recently broken up with my boyfriend at the time (boo hoo 😆). One of my friends said a drink would help then proceeded to buy me a beer, then a tequila shot, then another one, and another one. Until yours truly had to rush to the bathrooms because my stomach couldn't handle the alcohol mix I just threw at it. I also fell as I stood up from the bar...Yeah, definitely not my proudest moment 😆
As the years passed, I decided a glass of wine here and there wouldn't hurt. And I was right - it's now my go-to drink whenever I'm out. As someone who's super anxious and struggles with meeting new people, wine helps me relax and tap into my more confident self. It's like a little boost for me...Until it puts me to sleep. And mind you, it's always the best sleep ever afterwards.
So in conclusion, I believe some people might need a drink or two in order to let loose and have fun; in order to let go of their inhibitions or feel more relaxed and at ease in a social setting. There are a million reasons why someone might want a bit of alcohol when around people. Having said that, I've also friends who know how to manage being at a social gathering and enjoy it without even a drop of alcohol. In the end, it all depends on the person - who they are, what they're going through and how they like to have fun. Because even if a glass of wine means good time to one person, it could very much enhance someone else's flaws and fears.
Wishing everyone a wonderful rest of the weekend and cheers! 🥂