Five

It's been five months now since I stopped smoking.

Time to run the numbers:


Number of cigarettes I would have smoked between April 3 and now, had I not stopped smoking: 4,500


Amount of money saved: $802.50


When people light up around me, the smoke just smells like chemicals, not like something good, the way it used to. And I watch someone blow out smoke, and I'm amazed to think that all that smoke was in their lungs a minute ago.


Really, that was one of the main reasons I quit. Way back last winter, I was holed up in my apartment on a cold day with all the windows shut. I lit up a cigarette, exhaled the first puff, really looked at the amount of smoke that filled the room, and thought to myself, "That can't be good." I think that was the first time that a little inkling crossed my mind that maybe it was time to quit.


So! Five months. I still think about smoking sometimes. But the fact that I've made it this far, well, it gives me hope that I can keep it up. I mean, heck, if I can abstain from smoking for five months, I can do anything!