I am thinking about all of the people on this site, no matter where you are in your quit. I can tell you that each one of you is important, each one of you adds something to EX. We laugh together, we cry together, we complain and vent together, we hurt together, and we celebrate together. I could not have kept my quit without EX, I could not have come to this place of freedom without the people here. I have been through some really tough times since I started here, I have also been through some wonderful times. I have felt the love and support of this community in more ways than I could have imagined. I have come here to cry my eyes out, to share happy news, to reach out to help someone else, to reach up for someone to help me. This journey has not been easy, it has certainly not proceeded as I expected it to…but that’s life, isn’t it? We are not in charge of the things that happen, we are in charge of our quits, we are the ONLY ones who can be in charge of them.
I am luckier than some people here, I hated smoking, I hated the way it smelled, I hated people seeing me smoking but I refused to be a closet smoker. I hated the taste of it. Smoking made me feel like I was less of a person than I know I am. Smoking ran my life and nearly killed me, it stole my time from my family, it stole ME from myself, it stunted my emotional growth, it may have done enough damage to have shortened my life. My biggest desire is to help anyone here who wants to quit smoking, to share what has worked for me and the advice I have gotten from other people here. I am not unique in that desire, it is what keeps this site going.
I smoked for longer than some of you have been alive, I have now been quit for 3 years and a little over 3 months. I do not regret one day of being an EX and I hope that any of you just starting realize that while the beginning may be challenging and even seem impossible at times, the hard parts will pass and you will get to know the real you, the one who hid behind your own smoke screen. You will feel everything more intensely…yes, that means the bad but it also means the good, the happy, and the touching parts of your life. Who doesn’t want to prolong those happy times? I know I do.
Good night, everyone. Go TEAM!
