I. Alcohol & Wine
Back when I would get schlostered in college, I would say I drank because it accommodated “cool experiences.” The boldness and vigor that alcohol infused me with invariably led to a more hardcore engagement with life. Most simply: Wild stuff would happen.
I’d be audacious enough to make the right joke, or be wild enough to steal the spotlight in the way I wanted to. Maybe I’d even get lucky! Well, that was rare, but no matter how I spun it, getting drunk was not ever about the taste of alcohol. It was rarely an escape from my problems or to shoo away anxiety.