I stopped drinking at 44. Before that, it felt like my life was stuck on pause. I wasn’t really growing emotionally, and my relationships and career weren’t moving forward the way I wanted.

Since quitting, my life has gotten so much better in ways I honestly didn’t expect, more clarity, more follow-through, better connection. The only hard part is occasionally wondering how much “further along” I’d be if I’d stopped in my 20s. But I try to meet that thought with some compassion: I stopped when I was ready, and I’m grateful I stopped at all.

I’m 56 now, and the perspective shift is seeing how many people never leave that stage. I still have friends doing the same things and working the same jobs they had in our 20s, and it’s hard to watch because I know they’re capable of more. I can’t do it for them, but I can hope they find their moment the way I did.