This was an interesting read. I had a brother whose life mirrored your story. He was an alternate in Mexico's national soccer team, had a good scholarship from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), and he'd always have a back up job if he wanted to manage our father's stud horse ranch in Michoacan.

He never worried about anything because everything came incredibly easy to him, so I guess that he assumed it would always be there.

My brother loved to drink. He drank mezcal and he drank tequila. He would drink so much hard Mexican alcohol that he'd lose his voice for days at a time.

Sadly he passed several years ago at age 34 due to tuberculosis and liver disease. He never married or had kids. He did not want to be saved.

You are lucky that you wanted to, and were able to turn your back on the bottle. Yours is truly a success story...continued luck, my friend.