indulgences and excuses

We’ve all got our indulgences. Mine range from Kelly Clarkson tunes to favorite sweatpants to Diet Dr. Pepper to chick flicks. (Wow, those make me seem like a total girly-girl, don’t they?)

This semester I’m taking a class on substance abuse. Starting on September 1st, we are to abstain from something we like and consume or use regularly–for seven weeks. It’s called a simulated abstinence project, and the idea is that we might be able to better relate to an individual who has decided to abstain from substances after a period of abuse. It’s my personal opinion that we all have the capacity for excess. That doesn’t mean that every person who picks up a glass of wine will inevitably become an alcoholic. I think it means that as humans we’re prone to idolizing pleasure. Be it alcohol or books, internet or shopping…we’re really not that different.

So are you wondering yet what I’ve decided I’ll give up? You had a clue earlier. Yep, Diet Dr. Pepper. Actually, I won’t be drinking soda of any kind for at least the seven weeks of the project. I won’t be abstaining from caffeine altogether, just soda. I realize I open myself up to all kinds of reactions here, namely the people in my life who already don’t drink soda and might be quick to explain why I should never touch the stuff. But I’ve also met people who think Kelly Clarkson is lame, and that chick flicks are a waste of time and money. The issue isn’t the substance itself, it’s what it represents. It’s the same reason I’m this close to giving up my iPhone in exchange for a simpler, internet-less phone. I depend on that technology to entertain me. I’m addicted to it, if you will.

Like I said, we’ve all got our idols, our addictions, our indulgences…our excuses, our explanations. I sure do. So today, I’ll have a soda. I’ll savor it and enjoy every last potentially-cancer-causing particle, because starting tomorrow, it’s off limits. And I’m psyched.