The dancing, the socializing and hitting the town are all things that I miss when I reflect on my days of going out to the bars.

It has been 10 months now, and while I am so grateful for my recovery, my sobriety and for not living the life I used to, I would be a liar if I said that there were not some things I miss.

Being an alcoholic, of course there are times that I crave a drink. That is just a given.

I have noticed that I do not miss the hangovers, though, or the rest of the chaos that came with it.

What I miss is the social aspect and the nightlife.

I used to love getting all dressed up, going out on the town, running into my friends and dancing the night away. It was always a total blast.

This past weekend, my friends here at Eastern decided they wanted to go out to the bar.

While I have not been out in the last 10 months, I told them I would accompany them as the designated driver, considering the bar we went to was not in walking distance.

I had the time of my life on Friday night, and I did not even have a drop of alcohol.

Being there was a bit of a risk to me, but I had good support and an escape plan if things were to go wrong.

After leaving, I realized that it would be nice for sober people to have clubs to go to.

When I think of “sober clubs”, I envision clubs just as nice as regular bars, with music, darts, pool and a dance floor. The only difference is that alcohol would not be permitted nor served, but instead non-alcoholic cocktails, juice, soda and other things.

I have heard of sober clubs being a thing, but I have never been to one.

I think having one, especially at Eastern, would be a great thing because a lot of students who do not drink feel that there is nothing here for them to do.

As people in recovery, we cannot attend regular bars. My attendance on Friday evening was a very rare thing, and it is not something that will continue to happen. I need somewhere to go where I do not have to worry about peer pressure or alcohol.

After all, who wants to be stuck in their dorm on a Friday night?

Andrew Paisley  is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or at abpaisley@eiu.edu.