Eight years ago, Kelly Fitzgerald Junco embarked on a journey that changed her life. Prior to getting sober, she didn’t think about her future or career goals. Instead, she focused on socializing and drinking, believing it was the best way to live. However, after six months of trying to limit her drinking, she realized that her behavior was unhealthy and holding her back.

Initially, Kelly struggled with the stigma associated with sobriety. She thought that being an alcoholic was one of the worst things you could be, and she didn’t want to attend AA meetings because it would make her problem real. But, she eventually accepted the concept of sobriety and found a mindset shift that helped her maintain her recovery.

Kelly is grateful for the changes she has seen in the recovery community over the last eight years. When she got sober, there was only one path available to her – 12 step fellowships. But today, there are many resources and pathways to help people get sober or take a break from drinking. She believes that if these resources had been available earlier, she might have gotten sober sooner.

Kelly has been drug and alcohol-free for eight years, and she is proud of it. She has encountered various challenges over the past year, including grief, postpartum depression, and learning to live in her body again. However, she has decided to stay alert and aware through every moment, and she knows that sobriety has given her the freedom to do so.

Kelly’s father also quit drinking several years ago, and she wishes he could be here to celebrate her eight years of sobriety with her. Nonetheless, she finds solace in the fact that her son will never see her drunk or feel unsafe in her presence because of her drinking.

Kelly acknowledges that it’s okay to feel sadness on important days, even while celebrating milestones. Sobriety hasn’t cured her grief or sadness, but it has given her the freedom to feel her emotions and live life to the fullest