I know I'm a little belated in posting this, but I wanted to finally get my thoughts down.
First of all, I want to thank all of the August 18 HAKs, and all of the vets who helped lift us up. I couldn't have done it without you guys. I'm sure there's names I'm forgetting, but I want to thank AddictArchitect, Athan, 76Bronc, 69Franx, Gottadoit, Samrs, Phill, David S, kodiakdeath, MattyB, Strongx3, Boovie, and Arrakisdq in a particular way, for all the support you've given me.
133 days ago, I decided to finally quit using tobacco. Note that I didn't say stop. I had stopped plenty of times before, but it never seemed to last. I'd always make it a couple weeks, or even a month or two, then stop by the gas station after a hard day for "just one dip." One turned into two, and before you'd know it, I was back at a can (or more) per day. I had seen KTC before, but never took the plunge—you see, I wasn't an addict like those guys, I just had a bad habit.
Confronting the reality of my addiction was not easy. Everyone here, on some level, has felt ashamed of the fact that their life was organized around a can of shredded plant material. There are a lot of changes that go on when you are forced to face life head-on, without using a substance as a crutch, and some of them are quite difficult. I still have vivid memories of sitting in my office slamming the "refresh" button on KTC, while inhaling slice after slice of pizza. But the positive changes have been more than worth the unpleasant experience of withdrawal.
I love that I no longer spend hundreds of dollars a month on dip. I love that I take care of my health, particularly my oral health. I love that I no longer waste hours of my day sitting in my truck, or in a bathroom, fiddling around on my phone while slowly killing myself with tobacco. But most of all, I love the example that I can set to all of my quit brothers, and to every new quitter on this forum. There were some days that fucking sucked, and there are still some days that are hard. When I started, I honestly wasn't sure if I would make it to 100 days, or 50 days, or even a week. But if you can just promise to quit for this day, or even this hour—and hang tough until it's time to make that promise again—then you can make it too.
If you take anything away from this speech, let it be the importance of the connections that you make with your fellow quitters. When you're really in the thick of it, the thing that keeps you quit is the respect you have for them, and the promise you made to them. Post roll every god damn day, get some digits, and have a good time getting to know everyone on here. I'm proud to be quit with you guys—I promise to be nicotine free today.
