Fun Drink O’clock
October 28, 2022
Writer: Hannah Ahdab
Editor: Abigail Peacock
When making a mental list of things I wanted to do while visiting my sister in New York, crying in a Pret-A-Manger was not one of them. But despite my hatred for doing things not in my plans, and crying in public, I found my last summer-self looking at the display of drinks in my fridge with tears of frustration streaming down my face. The reason for my tears: the endless battle in my head of happiness versus liquid calories. No matter how many therapy sessions I attended, meals I documented, and snacks I consumed, I was still held hostage by the idea that I couldn’t drink my calories. Maybe it was remnants of the Diet Coke household I grew up in, or the effects of entering college during the Skinny Syrup era, but it felt like everyone around me had bought into this idea of zero-calorie beverages, and my fixation felt far too deep to overcome.
I recognized how ridiculous it was. Of all the things in the world to cry over, I had chosen something as trivial as the sugar content and calories in the beverages in front of me. I was embarrassed with how deep I had allowed this fear to penetrate. I want to live in New York City one day, but how would I survive if I couldn’t even make it through my lunch outing without bursting into tears or a panic attack? I knew I needed to find a way to break out of this mindset that had gripped me for so long, and the only way to do it was to try something new. This was how “Fun Drink O’clock” was born.
The premise was simple, a Snapchat story that my friends could join where I would post a ‘fun drink’ I had daily in an attempt to free myself from the calorie chains I had fallen prey to for so long. I wanted to be able to document the progress I was making. It was scary to publicize this part of my life; while my close friends were aware of what I struggled with, I was very hesitant to open up to a wider audience. Within a few hours, dozens of my friends joined and watched me drink my first drink of the series, Recess Hemp Water. The drink was terrible. It was bitter and oddly slimy, but it was a drink with calories, and that’s all that mattered.
In the following weeks, Fun Drink O’clock became my entire personality. My friends were sending me their favorite drinks and things they wanted me to try. When we would hang out, they would bring drinks for both of us and ask to be featured in the story. What surprised me most though was how many people in my life responded to the story by telling me that they were proud of me, and that they too were trapped in this mindset without even realizing it.
I wish I could say that I have stayed consistent with posting on the story, but in reality, I stopped posting around the time I got back to school in the fall. Instead I turned Fun Drink O’clock into a mindset. It has spread far beyond drinks. Fun Drink O’clock is now a mantra I use when pushing myself to get the late night feta bread from Pizza House, or to actually participate in the post exam Moon Cafe ice cream runs that my roommates always insist on: activities I used to avoid at all costs. Fun Drink O’clock provided me with the mindset change that I desperately needed. Foods and drinks are fun and meant to be enjoyed, not dreaded.
