Essay Sample on The AA Meeting: Not What I Expected

The first time I planned to attend the AA meeting, I was surpassed with expectations to find out how people decide to stop drinking. With the help of movies and television, my imagination painted a picture in my head, how the meeting will start and end. I imagined a room that had people who looked like addicts, borderline offensive hygiene, unkempt appearance and at least someone taking booze while swaying in his chair trying to balance the line between falling and staying upright.

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When I walked inside the room, I went to sit at the back, where I assumed that it was the spot for newbies. A few minutes later, I was welcomed by an old gentleman who urged me to listen to his story. When all the members arrived, the meeting began. The meeting was an open discussion where one member started by telling us the lifelong battle with addiction. Then, comments followed where the audience talked about how the story related to theirs.

I will be lying if I say that I never related to the expressions and thoughts of each person in that room I was also intrigued by their discussion and how they had to cope with their struggles every day. Most of them agreed that at some point, they all took alcohol to squelch the negative feelings even as minor as reading the bills found in their mail. Before I knew it, my mind was running very fast, thinking of how I made the best choice of wanting to become an alcoholic counselor.

I began asking my self, 'why is it that people drink without remembering that it is the only remedy that will not solve anything?' It is a fact that alcohol makes things worse because the individual ends up making the wrong choice. Now a laden person who drinks is like adding gasoline to fire. While hearing those stories, I hoped that that night would make everyone who struggles with alcohol to stop and begin to change their ways.

As the meeting continued, another gentleman struck my mind when he confessed that 20 years ago, he thought drinking was the way to go. Not until he realized that he was in an elevator of drunkenness that went deeper and deeper to the sub-basement of alcoholism. The topic made me wonder how someone does not understand that alcohol is taking them the wrong direction but continue to add more and more every day. The hardest part I faced in this meeting is that there is nothing I could do but hear, watch, and learn. I also imagined if this was my brother or sister who drinks their way of becoming homeless.

The meeting ended, and I could not stop thinking about the stories. My time there made me notice that this was one of the most personal and powerful lessons I have ever heard. I learned that it's good to celebrate one's achievement irrespective of how small or big they have taken their steps to quit alcohol. In my life, I have never attended such a meeting, but I can confess that it was worthwhile.

I would recommend anyone who has never done so to attend. The reason behind this invitation is that we all judge the drunkards we see every day but never realize that it's a struggle they have to face every day. The AA meeting will also change our perception of how we see things and how we judge people. As the future alcoholic counselor, the session has given me a stepping stone, courage, and direction on how to start, what to face and what to do to help people that are struggling with alcohol