Sorry for not introducing myself sooner.
My name is Lauren. I live in the Suburbs of the Chicagoland area. I am 23 years old and have been smoking for 7+ years (depending on how you look at it). I had my first drag of a cigarette when I was about 10 or 11 years old. I started smoking a little bit when I was 13, whenever I could someone to buy me a pack of cigarettes. Finally, at age 16, I was a full-blown smoker. I started out smoking less than a pack a day and up until.my quit date, I was almost smoking a pack and a half! I am wired for stress and even though I know it is not true, I felt that smoking ease my anxiousness, which lead to more frequent cigarette breaks.
I have my Bachelors in Psychology and am continuing college to get my Bachelors in Nursing (believe it or not many nursing students and nurses smoke...it's can get a lil stressful!). I have been with my fiancee for over 7 years now and he is a smoker, which makes this process a little bit more challenging. He wants to quit, but I do not think he has any intention to quit anytime soon...hopefully after I have been successful with my billionth quit attempt!
I finally woke up from my smokey haze ((pun intended ahaha)), when I started thinking about my future. I want to be able to not have to worry about sneaking around for cigarette breaks in the nursing program and as a future nurse. I do not want to have to go outside to go smoke on our wedding day. I want to be able to take drives with other people and not have to worry about when I am going to smoke. I want to be able to yawn or stretch without coughing (true story!). I want to become a runner; be more active, fit, and healthy. I do not want to have to try and explain to my niece and nephew why I am going outside or away from everyone at family parties. Most of all, I want to live a long, healthy life with my future husband, children, and grandchildren, which is reason enough for me to quit smoking.
