Why Quitting Alcohol in Puerto Rico Was The Best Decision I ever Made

Why I Quit Drinking: The Best Decision I’ve Ever Ma

Over nine years ago, I made a monumental, life-altering decision to quit drinking alcohol. It was not a trend, a challenge, or a temporary break. It was a line drawn between the life I was living and the life I knew I could no longer ignore. Looking back now, I can say without hesitation that quitting alcohol was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Alcohol as a Normal Part of Life

There was a time when drinking felt normal to me. It was woven into social life, celebrations, and routine. Alcohol was simply part of the environment I lived in, unquestioned and ever present. Like many people, I never paused to ask what role it actually played in my life. I drank because it was what people did.

At first, alcohol felt like a release. It softened conversations and dulled discomfort. It gave the illusion of connection and relaxation. But over time, I began to notice something subtle yet unsettling. The more I drank, the more disconnected I felt from myself. What I thought was enjoyment slowly became distance. What felt like freedom was actually avoidance.

Early Habits and Escalation

I started drinking at a young age. Around fifteen, alcohol entered my life and quickly embedded itself into my routine. What began as experimentation became habit. Habit turned into weekly binges. Weekends revolved around getting drunk, and sobriety felt like something to endure rather than embrace.

As I got older, my life choices began to orbit around alcohol. I became a bartender to fuel my drinking. I later became a DJ, fully immersing myself in the nightlife, the parties, the late nights, and the constant availability of alcohol. Drinking was no longer something I did. It was the environment I lived in.

Alcohol as a False Solution

Alcohol became my solution to everything, or so I believed. I drank to release stress. I drank to escape the depression that had followed me for most of my life. I drank to feel something different than what I felt when I was sober. But the truth, which took years to fully confront, was that alcohol was never a solution. It was the problem. It deepened my depression and kept me trapped in a cycle I could not see clearly from the inside.

I drowned myself in alcohol. A bottle of tequila, vodka, or bourbon felt like water to me. My weekends blurred into long nights of stumbling from bar to bar, club to club. Sleep became fragmented. Mornings were heavy. Days passed without intention

I drank to get wasted, to numb myself, to drown my problems, and to forget.

Paradise Lost to Drinking

Before moving to Puerto Rico, I lived in Hawaii for six months. On paper, it should have been paradise. But I cannot honestly say I ever truly lived there. I drank it away. The beaches, the land, the culture were all present, but I was not. Alcohol kept me distant from the very life unfolding around me.

When I later moved to Puerto Rico, my drinking followed me. I took it to the beaches and rivers. What could have been moments of clarity and connection became hazy extensions of the same pattern. Days and nights blended together. Even surrounded by nature, I was numb.

Drowning My True Self

“For you see, in my time drowning myself with alcohol, I was doing just that, drowning who I was.”

I would drink to dance, to laugh, to feel confident, to be anyone but myself. The truth is, I had no idea who I truly was. Alcohol was my mask, my escape, and my distraction.

I drank to get wasted. I drank to numb myself. I drank to drown my problems and forget. Alcohol promised relief, but it always demanded more in return.

But happiness does not come from a bottle. It was within me all along, buried and imprisoned by the poison I consumed.

Awareness Over Avoidance

I did not quit drinking because of one dramatic moment or rock bottom. I quit because I became aware. I noticed how alcohol clouded my clarity and muted my presence. I noticed how it dulled my ability to feel life fully. I realized that alcohol was acting as a veil between me and my own awareness.

When I made the decision to quit, everything changed quietly. Without alcohol, I could no longer escape myself. I was forced to sit with my thoughts, my emotions, and my restlessness. At first, this was uncomfortable. But that discomfort revealed something important. It showed me how often I had been avoiding stillness.

As time passed, I began to experience life differently. My mornings became clear and intentional. My mind felt sharper. My body felt lighter. I started noticing things that had always been there but had gone unseen. The warmth of the sun on my skin. The sound of birds moving through the trees. The feeling of being present rather than rushed.

Quitting alcohol did not take anything away from my life. It gave something back to me. It gave me clarity. It gave me presence. It gave me the ability to meet life as it is, without numbing or altering it.

I began to understand that alcohol was never the true issue. It was a symptom of something deeper. A pattern of distraction. A habit of escaping discomfort. A way of avoiding the quiet spaces where self knowledge lives. When alcohol was removed, those spaces opened up.

Nature as My Key

I get drunk off the beauty of life.

The turning point came when I found myself in nature. I stopped drinking, and something beautiful happened. I began to see the world with new eyes. I noticed the sky above, the sun’s warmth, the songs of birds, the vibrant trees, and the beauty of life all around me.

Alcohol had been a hindrance, a barrier between me and a deeper connection to nature and my true self. Once I let go of it, I could finally appreciate the simple yet profound beauty of existence.

I truly believe that we need nature to nurture. That understanding changed everything for me. Nature became my teacher. Presence became my practice. Stillness became my mirror.

Without alcohol, I could no longer run. I had to sit with myself. With my thoughts. With my emotions. With the discomfort I had spent years avoiding. At first, this was deeply uncomfortable. But within that discomfort was truth.

As time passed, something shifted. My mornings became clear. My mind sharpened. My body felt lighter. I began to notice life again, not through escape, but through awareness.

Choosing Self-Love Over Numbing

For me, self-love was the missing piece. I wanted to escape who I was. I wanted to put on a mask, to live in another skin, because I did not like the one I was in. Over time, I became a diluted version of myself, disconnected from my own truth.

I used alcohol to escape. To numb myself. To numb my mind. To numb the world around me because I was deeply unhappy. Drinking became my way of avoiding myself, of silencing what I did not want to feel or face.

But the truth is, the happiness I was chasing in a bottle could only come from within. No substance could give me what I was refusing to offer myself. I had to learn how to accept myself, nourish myself, and love myself fully and deeply.

Nature became my guide in this process. It nurtured me, grounded me, and reflected my true nature back to me. In nature, there was no mask to wear, no role to play. Just presence, honesty, and being.

A New Chapter of Life

IToday, I no longer substitute alcohol for relief. I substitute it with the beauty of life itself. With mindfulness. With meditation. With deep breathing. With simply being present. I grow my own herbal teas, which have now become my drink of choice, not out of restriction, but out of reverence for my body and mind.

One thing I always say is that we only have one life, and life is truly beautiful. It is a gift to be alive. I reached a point where I had enough of giving myself to a poison that took more than it ever gave.

We have so much more potential than to spend most of our waking lives drinking it away, numbing ourselves to the miracle of existence. I am making damn sure that I make this one life count, because we will not get another chance to live it again.

This is what I choose now. To live fully. To be present. To enjoy and cherish this life while I am here

A Clearer, Happier Mind

Gone are the days of slurred speech and stumbling steps. I’ve taken control of my life and my mind because this journey has been one of self-discipline. In doing so, I’ve discovered a happiness that does not fade when the buzz wears off.

Being alcohol-free, my mind is clearer. I make better life choices. I nourish my body and mind daily. My life simply flows better. I am more mindful and have a natural high on life.

Reflection

Sobriety became the foundation for everything that followed. It supported my path toward simplicity, self mastery, and intentional living. It allowed me to reconnect with my body, my instincts, and my place within nature.

Today, I live with purpose. I wake up present. I move through life with clarity. Sobriety did not limit me. It freed me. It stripped away what was false and revealed what was real.

Looking back, I see clearly now. Alcohol was never something I needed to live fully. It was something I needed to let go of in order to truly begin.

Because life itself is intoxicating, if you are present enough to feel it.

A Message for Those Struggling

We have this one sole life, and it should not be seen through the eyes of a bottle. It should be appreciated and cherished. Every moment should be truly valued.

To those who think they need alcohol, I implore you to stop, even just for a day. Go to a place in nature. Listen and observe. Happiness isn’t in a bottle; it’s in you.

I never felt better and more alive than when I quit drinking alcohol. I am more focused and happier than ever.

Closing Thoughts

Time to start feeling fully alive. There is no better time than now!

I don’t write this because I think I’m better than anyone else, but I am for sure better than who I was. Every day, I strive to become a better version of myself, and I believe we all have that power within us. Every day, we are born again.

It’s time to take control of your mind and stop allowing your mind to control you.

A Reflection for You

If this story resonates, pause for a moment. What do you use to escape discomfort or avoid stillness? What patterns no longer serve who you are becoming?

There is no single path, but sometimes transformation begins with one honest choice, one moment of awareness, one act of letting go.

If you feel called, share your reflection. You never know who might see themselves in your words and take their first step toward clarity.