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Unpopular Opinion

Wine is a Drink Best Served Happy

By A McNealPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
1
Mellisoni Vineyards - Chelan, WA

Wine is a drink best served happy.

You can chill it too, if that’s what you prefer. Have it red, white, or blue, I don’t particularly care. But when it’s nine o’clock on a Tuesday night and you sit over a half-full glass watching tear drops on the counter top praying for comfort, when you don’t even believe in a god - then maybe you should reconsider. Speaking from experience, when you’ve exhausted all resources and sleep continues to escape you, reaching for a bottle, though it seems practical, isn’t the only option.

I turned 21 barely six months ago. Since then I’ve been to three bars, eight wine tasting rooms and one Oktoberfest. I’ve collected a dry bar of vodkas, gins, and whiskey’s, and a fridge full of white wines. Also since then I’ve had three jobs, dropped out of college, gotten the flu twice and devastated my credit score. And as tempting as a pinot grigio can be on a night where you find a copy of your job description and a completed application for your position on your boss’ desk, opening the bottle will only make it become flat even faster. I’ve found that sitting alone with my feelings and coming to terms with exactly the emotions I’m feeling does more good than a drink ever would. Although it seems tempting, I’m also not looking to tarnish the taste of my favorite wine with tears and raw emotions.

I know what it’s like to feel exhausted and alone and completely overwhelmed to the point where drowning sorrow seems like the most popular and effective option. But I’ve also seen what happens when drowning your sorrow turns into drowning your ambitions, and drowning your happiness. It’s a fine line between drinking to cure a bad day, and using a bad day as an excuse for your drinking.

It’s a common misconception that sitting in a bar with a glass of whatever’s your poison is a sure way to find your soulmate. Passing glances across the room while you’re both buzzed, sharing in each other's misery while the bartender yells last call. We’ve lived in a time for so long where sorrow and pain is romanticized and can be cured by a night out on the town or a girls night in. And for small woes, or temporary fixes, both of those work great. But when you’re dealing with real pain and struggles, all it’s going to do is create an unhealthy cycle of using drinking and social events as a way to cover up how damaged you truly are.

Whether you’re drinking to forget, or drinking to heal, reality has a way of coming around eventually. What you have now, or what may seem like a sure thing can fall apart in an instant in the hands of a bottle.

While I find life to be exhausting, and good days are a rarity, it’s important to use the good days you have to put some good in your life. I’ve developed hobbies and passions on my good days. Those hobbies pull me out of the bad days, and those passions keep me persevering through the pain. And while I consider wine a hobby, and my collection continues to grow, I refuse to let the sadness and pain of daily life ruin the things I love, which is why I say wine is a drink best served happy.

I have yet to find true happiness. But I have found solace in knowing that I have a bottle of wine in my fridge that I have saved for a good day. And I know for a fact one is coming.

humanity
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About the Creator

A McNeal

21 | WA State | :)

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