i usually wear this white hat

The Hardest Thing

            There are millions of challenges one must face in the world today. To many people, the challenges are never ending. Some of the most difficult challenges are fortunately avoidable for many. Unfortunately, I have been facing one of the toughest challenges in the world today, quitting smoking! The most difficult challenge I have ever faced is to try to quit smoking. 

            There are many different methods to quit smoking cigarettes. One of the methods I used to stop smoking cigarettes is to quit “cold turkey.” Quitting “cold turkey” is without a doubt the most difficult way to quit smoking. The term quitting “cold turkey” means to stop smoking cigarettes completely, or to never have a single cigarette ever again. The thought of this is frightening to many smokers. Although quitting “cold turkey” may be the most difficult way to stop smoking, it is probably to most effective way to quit. The time when I attempted to quit “cold turkey” was the worst time of my life! I was a mental wreck! The one thing that was constantly on my mind was cigarettes. I felt sick and nauseous all day! I only made it three days before I ended up buying another pack of smokes. The “cold turkey” method was far too difficult for me.

            Another method I used to quit smoking was the nicotine patches and gum. There are many commercials today saying how easy it is to quit smoking if you buy the patch or the gum. Well don’t believe everything you see on television. (As you may already know.) Using the patch seemed to help me out a little bit. On days that I wore the patch, I did notice a slight change in my cravings. A slight change was unfortunately not enough for me. I ended up buying a pack just a few days after I started using the patch. As for chewing the nicotine gum, gross! Many people who don’t smoke cigarettes think that the smell is horrible. Well try tasting the gum! The gum didn’t work for me since my first piece, it was just too disgusting.

            The method that I am currently using to quit smoking is to only “bum” or borrow cigarettes. This has actually been going a lot better for me. Ever since I went over on my credit card, I swore to myself to never buy cigarettes again. Since I’m very addicted to cigarettes, I let myself think its ok to “bum” one every once in a while. Just the other day, for example, I asked a random stranger if he had any cigs, luckily he didn’t have any! I have gone from smoking a half of a pack per day, to about three or four per day. I know that three or four cigarettes a day is still way too many, but for me, it’s a big step!