Notes, lists, and my Diet Coke story

Reminder: Putting alcohol in water bottle may seem like a good idea at the time, but will make water smell like alcohol in the future. Get a flask already.

Things I keep trying to quit ingesting:
- Corn syrup
- Hydrogenated oil
- Diet coke
- Coffee
- Pasta/bread/other processed grain
- Fried food
- Meat

So far no luck.

I first tried to quit drinking Diet Coke when I was a sophomore in college. I'm not sure what made me want to quit more: knowing that it's really bad for you, or knowing that I was addicted.

The realization that I couldn't go a day without a Diet Coke was sort of funny, but sort of tragic. If it had been a line of cocaine instead of a bottle of soda, it would be much easier to motivate myself to quit. But soda is such an acceptable beverage, there is no stigma to carrying around a soda. When I told people I wanted to quit drinking it, people laughed. It was as though I had just told them I was trying to quit eating olives.

I was able to stop drinking Diet Coke for a good month or two. It was pretty damn hard. I remember I had a Diet Coke that I had left in the communal fridge, for emergencies (yes, I have Diet Coke cravings). I once ran to the fridge and rummaged around, panicking when I realized that some bitch in my house had drank my emergency Diet Coke.

When I came back home for summer break, L gave me a shirt emblazoned with "Diet Coca-Cola." She said that she bought it because she when she saw it in the store, she thought of me. This was a sort of tragic moment. Like when all of a sudden you realize that people think of you every single time they see the color purple because you are obsessed with it.*

I have unsuccessfully tried quitting Diet Coke several times since. I know it's not as bad as being addicted to heroin, but before I tried to quit Diet Coke, I hadn't known that I was susceptible to addiction at all.


* That happened with a friend of mine from high school