I know that this is not the best thing to talk about, if I want to paint myself in the best of lights. However, I feel that telling my story is necessary, in the hope that someone else doesn’t make the same mistakes that I did. This is the story of what happened to me.

One night, I went out with a few of my friends to celebrate a new job that one of them had just gotten. I was the driver for the night as I often was. I never like to drink too much. When I feel like I can’t control my own actions, I’m pretty uncomfortable. For this reason I try not to get too drunk. I like the buzz, but I really don’t like being drunk.

I tried to control how much I was drinking throughout the night. I tried to drink less than a beer an hour, but you know how that goes when someone is celebrating. Last call came around and it was time to leave. I made sure that everyone got to the car and had all of their things before we hit the road. I thought I was a very responsible (semi) designated driver.

Not 10 minutes into our drive we come to a sobriety check point. I told everyone that I was fine and that the check point would not be a problem.

I complied with the officer’s requests (which I now know, might not be the best idea) and submitted to some sobriety tests. It turned out that I was impaired and I was immediately arrested and taken downtown for booking.

I realize that I made a mistake and that I am paying for it. Now I’m in debt from my court fees and my wife is very angry with me. I even lost my job but I am hopeful that I will get everything back, and my lawyer says that it is quite possible. I must say that getting a good lawyer is critical if you are ever charged with a DUI or a DWI.