Drunkenly Sober

Parameters: You have one piece of lined paper to answer the prompt in a sober and drunk state of mind. You’re considered drunk when you believe it to be so. It’s encouraged to respond to the prompt while sober the day before you write it whilst drunk. Give it a day in between to forget what you wrote sober, and then let the good times roll.

Prompt: What is the point of it all?

Sober Response: 5/16/25

There were years of my life when I didn’t see a point to anything at all, and in the worst times I nearly stopped looking. Those were hard, ugly years. Yet once I started to grasp my own point of it all, the time I spent with it out of my reach made all the more sense. 

I don’t think the point of it all is to be happy, isn’t it sometimes angularly pleasant to feel sad or lonely? It’s the feeling of fear that I don’t enjoy. Fear threatens to trap you in a cage where you believe you’re locked away from all else, yet the key is sitting right by the door the entire time. You cannot wake up on a sad day and will yourself to be happy, but I do think you can wake up and choose to choke down your fears and make shit happen anyway. 

For years, fear kept me from everything that makes me happy; human connection, creativity, and self respect. It isn’t strange that I clung onto fear for the first couple decades of my life. We hold close what we believe will protect us, yet oftentimes it’s that familiar thing that causes us the most suffering.

I’ve found what initially causes me the most discomfort is what in the end brings me the most joy. Sitting down to write, taking the first few steps of a run, or trying something new like stand up comedy creates an initial feeling of hesitation. For each and every time I embark to do one of these things I risk failure, and rejection from myself or others. 

It’s the act of overcoming that fear that brings along my greatest thrill; giving myself a flying — of a chance. 

And so for me, that’s the point of it all.

If you’re going to try, go all the way

There is no other feeling like that

You will be alone with the gods

And the walls will flame with fire…

You will ride life straight to 

Perfect laughter, it’s

The only good fight there is. 

–Charles Bukowski

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Drunk response: 5/17/25

Fuck this shit I’m tired and I’m going to bed. Figure it out tomorrow.