Alex stopped drinking in 2014 & that change was the catalyst guiding her to where she is today.
I was always the wild child, full of energy and a love for life. As I got older I let this part of me get dimmer, I found myself shoulding my life away and losing sight of that little girl. When I realized that I had lost myself and who I was I knew it was time that something had to change. I’d always been someone with personality plus (as my grandma said) and it was time to let that ‘plus’ be free again. The common denominator of what I saw holding me back from letting my personality plus back out was alcohol. This realization was scary, how was I going to live a life without something that was so ingrained in our society, but the fear of staying as I was was greater than the fear of continuing down the path I had been on.
I started exploring what life could look like without alcohol. I took trips with friends, went to concerts, started to get back into fitness, personal development and began experimenting in life to discover who I was and what I enjoyed. I was so nervous I was going to miss out on life, but instead I was finally actually living and being present in life.
My sobriety journey started with an out-patient program, AA and a sponsor. It was the community and support that I needed at the start of my sobriety journey.
Along my sobriety journey I met my husband, and we began to explore life together, he encouraged and supported me in my sobriety journey–attending my sober anniversary meetings, celebrating me and my growth and learnings, and stood by my side and continues to in my journey as we navigate life together.
We have built a little family together, our Zee Crew–our little pupper Schmidt (New Girl inspired), our daughter Clara and our son Gryffin. My family is one of the many things that reminds me of why I started this journey. It was and is to show myself what is possible, and the importance of being who you were meant to be. I hope that as my kids get older they can look up to their mom and see that I lived my life in a way that was true to me, I didn't do what I “should” do or had to do to fit in, I made a change for me and nobody else so that I could create a life that was aligned to me and my values.
In early 2019 I attended a goal setting session and it was there that I had the vision to create a community and podcast that brings people together and shows them they are not alone in whatever it is that they are going through. The idea felt so right, yet it took nearly 2 years for me to put it out into the universe. In December 2020 Creating Ripples was created. This podcast has been a wonderful journey, it has taught me so much about the importance of showing up, and sharing and how our stories can make a difference and help even just one person when we own who we are. Creating Ripples has and continues to support people on their own personal journeys.
Over the years I have met so many amazing people, and created and surrounded myself with a community of people who are committed to discovering their favorite versions of themselves. It was in early 2021 I realized how many people I knew living a badass sober life.
When the pandemic hit everything changed, feeling disconnected from the world, I found myself craving connection to other sober humans. Early in 2021 I began a book club where we read Quit Like a Woman. The discussion, growth and insight was so powerful that I craved more of it in my life. Realizing I had a small group of sober women in my life, I felt the call to create our own sober meeting. What began as 8 strangers meeting for the first time virtually in February 2021 has turned into a weekly Tuesday night meeting of my closest friends and biggest supporters in my sobriety journey. That group showed me how much we all desire real raw connection and the power of community.
I have always felt a call to create spaces for others to show up and feel safe, supported and heard. Over the last year and a half since the creation of the Tuesday Night Meeting it became clear to me that that desire is to help others who are sober/sober curious to feel encouraged in their journey. Sobriety is an opportunity to reconnect with our most true self and discover all that we are capable of. It is a beautiful journey that I want to show others what is possible when they choose to remove alcohol from their lives and all the things they get to do.
Almost 8 years ago I removed alcohol from my life and that change has impacted her life in more ways than she could have ever imagined. A journey that initially was met reluctantly ended up being exactly what I needed to guide me on an exploration of self & provided me with many lessons & learnings. Through self discovery work, sobriety, shedding the layers of society & others, adventure & braving the wilderness I have found my way back home to self. My personal journey has allowed me to understand how capable we all are and I believe my purpose is to empower others in their journey to see how wildly capable they are.
