Kate

By KATE WEBBER

I love booze. I love it in all its forms. I love beer, cider, scotch, good vodka, better gin, bourbon cocktails, quality rum, bad rum (I am a Queenslander, after all), tequila, but most of all, wine. I actually can’t imagine a world without wine; it doesn’t bear thinking about. My family are all drinkers, and what seems normal to us (knock off work, cook dinner, sit down to a wine or four), is excessive to others, and actually considered binge drinking by the medical society.

After working in hospitality my entire life, it also became totally acceptable within my friendship group and circle of colleagues to finish work and knock back at least three drinks… and that’s on a quiet night! And alcohol is not the only substance enjoyed by those close to me; recreational drug use was the norm growing up.

Let’s break the mold here. I am not from a disadvantaged background, a broken family, or an area known for a certain demographic. My sister and I are lucky enough to come from one of the most loving, close and amiable families around. Our parents are celebrating their 43nd wedding anniversary this year. I was sent to one of the most exclusive girls’ schools in Australia, and we grew up in a lovely, leafy inner-city Brisbane suburb. Yet substance abuse nearly claimed the life of one of my closest family members, and we were moments away from losing this beautiful, talented, loving and charismatic person on multiple occasions. Figuratively, we lost that person for 10 years. As for myself, I was in a haze of partying, “recreational” drug taking, drinking and not much sleep for most of my late teens and twenties.

So how does it happen that two such wonderful people as my parents nearly lose two children to substance abuse? We had all the

opportunities we could ever want or need. We grew up in an environment where you were never pushed, but always supported, no matter what avenue you wanted to take. However, we were never educated on the effects of drugs and alcohol. To our elder family, alcohol was a totally normal part of the day, and drugs just didn’t exist; neither my primary nor high school broached the issues caused by drugs and alcohol, and even more concerning is that bullying was never discussed at my all-girls’ high school. I grew up knowing that heroin was bad (namely from movies), but pot and acid were never discussed, let alone the emerging scene back then of amphetamines and ecstasy. We were just never educated, until it was in front of your face.

Looking back, I can now see the only reason we both came out the other side was because we are lucky enough to have the support network we do. We have people to help us, are there for us no matter how horrendously we behave, and love us. But how can you possibly get out of that cycle if you don’t have this safety net? And it is scary how many are out there that have no one.

Now? I’m a boring old accountant; I eat a paleo diet and do crossfit. I try to keep as healthy as I can. However, I still can’t shake those two glasses of wine on the couch every night, and many more when catching up with the girls on the weekend. It’s hard to break a habit of a lifetime. This is why I’m doing Ocsober this year. I’m going 31 days without my beloved booze to raise money for Life Education Australia, an amazing initiative to educate kids all over Australia on the negative effects of drugs and alcohol, poor diet and lack of exercise, and so importantly, bullying. These guys do an amazing job, and if they can change the course of a few kids’ lives through knowledge, then giving up wine for a month is the least I can do. And hopefully this month off will change my habits also… Although a celebratory Riesling will be well earned on November 1st!