When I was in college my best friend tried to get me to start running with him. And I did go for a few excruciating runs with Gus at the IM building and around the town of State College, in the snow and ice. At the time, I was completely out of shape, drank nearly every day, and smoked about a pack to a pack and a half of Camel Lights a day. I had no business running. ...
This weekend, I’ll be heading up to State College, PA for the first time since I got sober for the annual Blue White weekend. For those of you who aren’t Penn Staters, this is a spring scrimmage football game complete with tailgating and about 100 thousand other Penn State fans. It’s also one of the last big weekends for Seniors who are getting ready to take their finals and graduate. ...
Anxiety. Fear. Agony. Those are the words that come to mind when I recall the first wedding I attended sober. It was a scant sixteen days after I’d given up the drink. I was still in withdrawal, and probably had no business going to a wedding of a fraternity brother. Still, I was committed to attending and even more committed to not drinking. ...
Are binge drinking and alcoholism related? I'm sure there are people far better qualified than me to answer this question, but I'll share some insights that I've gleaned from my own reading and I'll share my own experience. Let’s begin with a definition of binge drinking from the CDC’s site: ...
As I mentioned yesterday, earlier this year I got a number of questions from a concerned fraternity brother about my journey in sobriety that I’d like to address on this blog. I felt the need to paint the picture of my college experience as background for this series of posts. I’m writing my responses to these questions, in hopes that others may learn from my experience, strength, and hope. What should the Psi Chapter Alumni Association (hereafter referred to as we) be doing to help known alcoholics, those living with alcoholics, and those that will one day discover that they have the disease? Well, this isn't going to be easy....
We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. A few months ago, a fraternity brother of mine sent me a list of questions related to my recovery. I’ve been mulling over answering them directly or on the blog and after discussing them with my fraternity brother decided to answer them on the blog. Before I start that series, I think a little background on my college experience might be in order. University Park is located at the exact center of Pennsylvania and is mostly surrounded by the borough of State College, PA. The town is a total of 4.5 square miles and is surrounded by farmland and mountains. In the 1990s, the town boasted a total of 42,000 residents and the student population was approximately 40,000 undergraduates. The entire area is peaceful and relaxed and goes by the moniker “Happy Valley.” To say that it is an idyllic location is an understatement of perhaps the greatest magnitude. When I was in school, there were 56 fraternities registered with the Intra-Fraternity Council and 23 sororities registered with the Panhellenic Council. Within the confines of the 4.5 square miles, there were approximately 25 bars. There were at least 10 beer distributors within ten miles of the town. Due to Pennsylvania’s insane liquor laws, you can only buy beer in cases or kegs at beer distributors - if you want a six pack, you have to go to a “six pack shop” where you pay significantly more than at a distributor. And if you want wine or liquor, you have to go to a state store. There were two state stores in the town. Penn State University Park is officially a dry campus. ...
Having a Laugh with Schwinger Photo by Marvin Joseph Update: This is a post from another blog. I migrated it to this blog because it’s an important part of my story. This was posted just over three years before I fully surrendered and accepted that I am an alcoholic. ...