The Glamourization of Alcohol

I made alcohol look fun. I was a professional at it, literally. 

After living as an expat in London for a couple of years, I started a blog called "American Girl in Chelsea." This is way back in 2010. (Some of you are still here today because of the AG days- thanks, gals!) 

I was asked by restaurants, bars and hotels all over London to come and give a review - and the focus for me was always the cocktails. 

The blog grew, and hotels and restaurants in Europe wanted to boost their American expat audience, so I even got to travel around Europe- posting glamourous photos of myself with a glass of champagne.

So, now, when I see the glamorisation of alcohol all over social media, I get it. I was there. I was holding the glass. I was snapping the selfies.

But something changed as soon as I started to give alcohol a job. As soon as I started looking to it to meet an unmet need, whether that was relaxation, connection or fun.

After realising the MASSIVE toll alcohol was taking on me and my relationships, I also realised, after a lot of hard work, that alcohol wasn't actually living up to its end of the bargain.

It wasn't helping me relax. It was making me more anxious. 

It wasn't helping me connect. My relationships had become superficial.

And the last domino to fall- I realised it didn't make me more fun. I could do that all on my own. 

Maybe you're reading this right now and thinking, is alcohol all it's cracked up to be?! 

Maybe all these "influencers" (myself included) making booze look beautiful are asking the same exact question. 

Has the glamourization of alcohol on social media made you believe things about alcohol that might not be true?