Akilina Quit Smoking 6 Months Ago

I have heard that it is usual for people to make a 6 month speech of a sort, but since i am not really talented with that i will simply say some words.

First and foremost time goes by really fast. Have you noticed that when you are having a good time it just goes by in a flash? Then this month I must have had a really nice time since I don't know how the days from my previous milestone passed. Don't let me try to remember how complicated and speedy the time was since September.....I cannot believe that I am here....it seems otherworldly.

It was a hard time there at the beginning you know....ah! Yes you all know.....I remember I couldn't sit across from someone who was smoking without undergoing severe cravings and panic attacks when I realized that I couldn't smoke. Today I was around smokers all day long and barely noticed. My best friend came over to visit Athens after more than a year. She didn't smoke in my car although I gave her carte blanche and I didn't notice either. She had to bring it to my attention in order for me to smile and thank her. I used to look at smokers and "drink" their smoking minutes......I try to do that now and I get distracted by other activities within the first 5 seconds. I don't know what that means, but the process is getting easier. Oh!, there are cravings, sometimes really hard ones, but they can be elbowed easily. I suppose that is the main point.

I feel that after a long time I am finally raising slowly and smiling. :) It feels like the season I am in....the birth of something new. Better or worse only time will tell. Let me tell you though that this quit was the beginning of many changes in me, not only that I don't smoke anymore. It seems that the knowledge that I was quitting kick started my engine on everything else as well. As one friend said, I took a 180 degrees turn. I used to smoke, I don't anymore. I had an old family car, i have a small sports one now. I weigh 35 pounds less; my hair was straight and frizzy near the edges, now it is completely curly. I hated shopping and now the stores are about to raise me a statue. I never exercised and now I cannot go one day without a basic or advanced workout. And...oh....so many many more things. I know that quitting smoking made me undergo all these changes and I am forever thankful to me about this decision. It was the best I have ever made, as the worst was when I started this disgusting addiction.

I am still relatively young and I WANT to live...I have a lot more to see and experience. I don't want to die because of my own stupidity and this quit has made me....love myself again.....that is the best way to explain it I guess. I understood that if I made such a hard effort, I must really care for me and I took that several steps further. Up till now it is working....let us hope that I will not betray myself in the future.

Before I go I want to thank from the bottom of my heart this forum and all the wonderful people here who took me in and made me feel at home. I thank the WOS and Kerri for making me a part of something so special. It was a real life saver up till now. You cannot even begin to imagine how many times I wanted to smoke and the thought that i had to answer to my fellow Women of Strength kept me at bay. It still does. And since I am speaking of the WOS let me thank also JOJ for being my first nominator and tell her that she will again be up and standing tall! She had before, she knows how to do it, and she will again!

You guys are in my heart...

Akilina (Ellemphriem)