Hi guys!
I'm 21, and had been chewing for about 4 years. I have always had an addictive tendency, and it has plagued me throughout my life. I was introduced to it in the dorms in Fall of 2010 by a baseball player, and was hooked immediately. I've mostly chewed Copenhagen wintergreen; I switched to Straight because I couldn't deal with the burn of WG anymore. Before I left for college, I did not know that chewing tobacco even existed. (Never watched the Sandlot until about 2-3 years ago, lol) As I eased myself into college life at Chico State, I realized that more and more people were dippers here. Every roommate I've had since coming up here was a dipper (I'm going into my 5th year here)
In my opinion, I lived the past 4 years of life as a fraction of my full potential. Every single thing I did in my daily life before, I realized that I would always ask myself "When can I put in a lipper?" When I was home from school, (because my parents didn't know) I would chew in bed at night. There were times when I would chew in class, even though I didn't want girls to see. As an avid hockey fan, I would put one in at the start of every period. My addiction had gotten so bad that the local liquor store that I go to would have my cans ready for me as I walked up to the register. Mentally, I felt like I wasn't as sharp as I was in high school because of my dependency. Additionally, I felt socially awkward at parties because I would rather go sit somewhere and have a dip instead of talking to girls or hanging out with my friends.
It wasn't until about 3 weeks ago that I realized my drastic my life had changed since I started chewing. I had just woken up from a really long night of drinking, and felt like absolute shit. While laying in bed, I finally wrapped my head around how bad my addiction was, and forced myself to take action. I knew that quitting dip would be extremely difficult, but I was lucky enough to have a great support system in my Fraternity to help me quit. My Fraternity has always been known as the nice guys on campus, and is nothing like what you see in the news or on TV/movies. I consulted with some of my brothers that had either quit smoking or dipping before, and they provided me with the confidence and drive to get my through my first week. That being said, my first couple of days after quitting also coincided with Finals week, which turned out to be some of the most stressful times I've ever experienced. However, I got through that by staying on campus from dawn till dusk, doing everything from studying, eating, taking finals, or just hanging out with my bros.
It's been 17 days since I've had a lipper, and I think I've lost the physical urge to dip. Every now and then I think about it, but there's not enough motivation for me to go out and start down that dark path again. The next school year I will be living in the Fraternity House, and for the first time, I will be living with all non-dippers. That being said, I am still experiencing some of the effects from my use like gum soreness and tiredness. So far this website has been an immense help in answering my concerns/questions, and I'm excited to see where this takes me!
-KevinChico
