Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A "Dear John" letter...to Diet Coke

Dear Diet Coke,

We've been through a lot together. You were there for me on some of the longest nights of my life--all-nighters to write papers, late night work shifts, and being "on-duty" when I was a resident assistant. You were there to keep me going through long work days, and you were there for good times too, countless movie and dinner dates, always with your effervescent personality that made me tingle.

Photo (L to R) of me and Diet Coke, circa 2008

Unfortunately, it's not me, it's you.

As much as I know it must hurt to hear this, it hurts me to have to say it. It's time for me to move on. Yes, you've been there for me for many years now, but you've also done damage that will take years for me to get over, if ever. I suspect I don't even know how much damage you're capable of. And you're not just hurting me, but others I care about.

You're not just like a drug, you are a drug, and I've got to call it quits. I can't say I won't be open to a booty call every now and then, but I need to make room in my life for someone better.

We'll always have our memories.

Love,
Bettina


SERIOUS NOTE: If you haven't already, please click the links embedded within this letter. They all lead to articles that are just the tip of the iceberg of why I've decided to give up soda. Soda (and diet soda is worse than regular sodas) does horrible things not only to our bodies, but to the environment. It's a huge challenge for me to give it up, but I'm confident that this is a decision I won't regret. 

4 comments:

  1. I wanna know more about this Diet Coke booty call!! Hah! Diet coke hurts so many people I care about! :(

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  2. ADORABLE ILLUSTRATION!! I enjoyed reading this post! ...I gave up high fructose corn syrup and aspartame a few months ago and it has dramatically changed my health.

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  3. Sam, it's not as exciting as it sounds--basically, I'm not forcing myself to quit "cold turkey" so over the next 5 months I'm allowing myself a gradually reduced number of sodas, and then will totally give it up. I have a feeling I'll be off it before that time is done though, but I wanted to make an achievable goal to be more likely to stick with it.

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  4. Shannon, thanks so much! I am thinking about illustrating all/most of my posts moving forward...

    Also, I am so glad to hear that! I am pretty sure diet soda is the only aspartame I consume, and I know I need to work on high fructose corn syrup, but we eat out so much it's hard. For the most part though, the groceries I buy are whole foods which at least I don't have to think about!

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