Updated June 08, 2015.

When I talk about this site and this forum with the people in my life outside of the forum, I have a difficult time expressing just how wonderful it is, the magnitude of the support and guidance and the bonds that are created. I can tell when people look at me that they don?t get it, and maybe most of you would agree that it is quite a unique place. I look at it as a kind of worldwide snapshot. There are so many people here from all over the globe with all kinds of views and one common goal: to achieve and maintain freedom from cigarettes.

This place offers hope to people who might not find it elsewhere for any number of reasons, and hope is a priceless commodity. I?m a much less cynical person than I was 3 years ago, and I have to thank Christine Rowley and her No Smoke Café and this About site and forum. Christine, your story saved my life, and I miss you so!

The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. - William James

I am smoke-free today because I want to be; I quit smoking 3 years ago because I wanted to quit. Being the planner that I am, I devised a plan which I hoped and believed would offer me the best chance of success, and I guess I must have done something right! I used the nicotine patches because the step-down process made sense to me, and it still does, and I joined a forum like this one, but on a smaller scale. Support made all the difference to me. Giving and receiving support gave me strength and bolstered my resolve. I threw myself into quitting smoking; it was a project to me, with lessons I wanted and needed to learn.

I felt deprived in the beginning as most do in the early weeks, but almost the minute I decided to embrace my new life, I felt better. I felt less and less deprived each day and more and more empowered. There were bad days, of course, but they became fewer and not as bad. I knew, like everyone, that quitting smoking was good for me, and I was determined to wait it out until it felt good. I am so happy I did because it feels great now!!!

If you?ve heard it once, you?ve heard it a thousand times here: it will get better. It just does, and it just takes time and patience. There is so much common sense in that simple statement. No one wants to fight this addiction forever, and it isn?t a fight forever. It doesn?t even have to be a fight. It has been a journey for me, and I have grown up in so many ways. That?s what happens when you embrace the change. There are pains along the way, but they are distant memories for me now. I remember what I need to remember to maintain my freedom and to try to help those who have decided to reclaim their lives.

I could type out a list of all those who have helped me to become the happy non-smoking me, and I am grateful to each and every one of you. I think, though, in the interest of time and space, I?ll just thank you all for your support and kindness along the way. Some of you are my great friends now, and what blessings you are to me. You know who you are! In addition, I want to send special thanks to our guide and the girls of the Posse: Terry, Lesly, Anne, Gay, Tammy, Linda, and Kerri. What a group you are! Thank you for your support and friendship, and thank you for making such a big difference in my life and in the lives of all here.

So, what can I say? What can I say to help those of you who are struggling decide that this is not so bad and might even end up being the best thing you have ever done for yourself? The benefits are many, physical and emotional. You CAN do it; people quit smoking every day. What will motivate you to keep cigarettes out of your life? How will you get to a point where you become as protective of your smoke-freedom as you were of your cigarettes? What can I say that will encourage you to put one foot in front of the other and focus on today? I don?t know! If I did, I imagine I?d be the happiest person in the world! I?m willing to bet that you know the answers to these questions, though, and maybe reflecting on them will have you seeing things more clearly and in a more positive light. I hope so. Reading and posting here will do that too, so please make this a big priority. You will not regret it!

We must never cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time. - T.S. Eliot

Be kind to yourselves. Love to all in this amazing forumily,

~Michelle - Free since 01/13/02~
Michelle's Quit Smoking Story
Michelle's 1 Year Milestone
Michelle's 2 Year Milestone
Michelle's 4 Year Milestone
Michelle's 5 Year Milestone
Patience With the Process
A Perspective on Using NRT's
There is No Substitute for Time
Depression When You Quit Smoking
Smoking and Degenerative Disc Disease