When there ' s scores of people around me enjoying something I used to enjoy , it ' s hard for me to maintain my resolve . There is only one of me and many of them . Some of them might even have , in my opinion , a bigger alcohol problem than me . It makes me feel I am losing out . It makes me feel life is unfair . This is why I do not put myself in situations where I see other people drinking . I value my sobriety and do not want to threaten it . Sticking to the dry people , dry places rule protects me not only while the drinking is taking place somewhere else . It also protects me afterwards because it keeps the can of wormy whatifs shut . What if I just drank this one time ? What if I ' m not really an alcoholic ? What if I tried again really hard to moderate ? So early in my sobriety I feel vulnerable and raw . I wouldn ' t take a kid to a birthday party and tell him to just watch others eat sweeties . I won ' t do it to myself either . This would be just pure and unnecessary cruelty .