6 and a half years ago, I stopped drinking alcohol.
I was 21 and visiting friends in Chicago, and because of a hangover, I wasn't as present with a friend as I wanted to be. That was the moment I realized alcohol didn't serve me and I decided to stop drinking altogether.
I couldn't have known then that it would become one of the most consequential decisions of my early 20s. Many of the values that shape my life today can be traced back to it.
Choosing not to drink at 21 made me more comfortable doing what was right for me, even when it looked different from what my peers were doing.
That confidence later helped me move from the East Coast to Milwaukee to be near family and create runway to build our agency. It also helped me have my son at 24, before any of my friends or coworkers were starting families.
Khurram and I made the decision to stop drinking together. It became one of the first of many difficult things we have done together.
It taught us how to hold each other accountable, challenge one another, and build a life around shared priorities.
When I drank, the prospect of fun could take priority over my health.
Today, taking care of my kids is the only thing that comes before taking care of myself. I build systems so those priorities rarely have to compete.
The decision to stop drinking fundamentally changed my life's trajectory. It gave me early practice in choosing the life I wanted to build.
What decision from your early 20s has shaped your life today?
