An Alcoholics Anonymous ( Aa ) Meeting Essay

I was very nervous about attending an AA meeting alone, I had never been to one and I surely didn’t not want to go alone. I remembered a close cousin of mind attended AA meetings frequently, so I asked her if she wouldn’t mind going to one with me. I attended the Beginners and Slippers meeting at the Western Club. My first thought on this meeting was that there were going to be a lot of people that are just beginning their journey to recovery. It was very intimidating to attend the AA meeting simply because I felt out of place, like I shouldn’t be there. Once we had arrived to the meeting, everyone seemed so friendly and just like ordinary people. Everyone greeted one another and seemed so nice. There were individuals there from higher class to lower class and they looked perfectly find to me,

Many of the same individuals were present for both meetings. It was interesting to see that those who have been coming to the meeting have stationed themselves in a specific seat of area in the room. Along with seating arrangements, it appeared to be the same people sitting with one another. I had also noticed that one man attends the meetings and presents announcements specific to events associated with AA. He also presents announcements which are related to the church who allows the meetings to be held. I want to assume that the man attends the church but also attends the church. In contrast, this meeting was hosted by two men. Both men are active participants in the discussions and share their

After my experience of attending an open AA meeting, I decided to continue learning about alcohol addiction and how it affects family and/or friends by going to an Al-Anon meeting. In class we have touched upon how addiction affects not just the individual, but all those involved in their lives. After the experience of the AA meeting I was eager to see what would happen and be discussed in an Al-Anon meeting. Trying to find an open meeting was more difficult than when I was looking for an AA meeting. In order to find one I went to the Al-Anon website and was then directed to the New Jersey website. I was very surprised to find that there were only about ten total meetings around my immediate area. Toms River is a rather large city and I would

The focus of the meeting was Step #2 –humility. There were a few AA birthdays and in general the meeting consisted out of birthday-people reliving their stories and some talking about humility.

I have never experienced what it would be like to be a part of an AA meeting. The only time I have had seen or heard someone mention meetings for alcoholics has been TV shows and movies, which would portray these meeting as a circle of strangers just deliberating stories of their life and how this disease has changed them forever. Therefore, I had no idea what to expect. I felt intimidated and had a sense of nervousness, so I decided I would not go alone and brought a friend. My expectation upon entering this meeting was to see beat up people with bad hygiene and a homeless appearance. As a matter of fact, the expectations I had upon walking towards this place was that I was going to get hit on and even get kidnapped. As crazy as it

Alcohol Anonymous was for me just getting recover from Drinking too much and the media say they traded their drinking for A.A. The first time I went Alcohol Anonymous was in Friendship Club II and as I got in I was curious to see how it played. As me and my father go to the building, I talk to the manager and we talk about the people who discover Alcohol Anonymous was Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio at 1935. As I went in I saw mostly guy and one woman and they going to start the meeting the woman telling her story.

For my observation. I attended an NA meeting. It was in Hemet CA, on a Tuesday night. The building was called “Red Dog Group”. I had walked in, and told the lady at the front desk that I was here to sit in on a meeting and observe it for my health class. She said”Of course you can, just wait here for about another 10 minutes and you will go in with everyone.”

The population that was addressed in the AA meeting I went to was recovering Alcoholics and those still working towards recovery. The location of the meeting was held at the Alano Club of Kent County. In this building, several different types of AA meetings and other groups are held. The building itself did not have any huge indicators of the type of meetings that go on there. This is most likely because of the social and cultural concepts that are associated with going to AA meetings. Furthermore, it could also be a way to help those going to the meetings, to remain anonymous about what they are partaking in. All the same, the client population varied across the spectrum. At this particular meeting, there

My first impression of the meeting was that it was a stranger to everyone there. It clearly wasn’t the first time for the others who knew the routine of the meeting. Everyone was involved in a

On the 14th of November, my classmate Lina and I went to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Newington, CT for their open speaker AA meeting. Upon arrival, I was a little nervous since this would be my first time at an AA meeting and I did not know what to expect. However, once in the meeting, you could feel how much everybody cared about everyone else, whether they were new or returning. I think this was because everyone was going through the exact same thing and they did not have to worry about being judged. As stated in class and on the syllabus, open speaker meetings are ones where members of the meeting share their life story. Most of the stories told at the meeting were positive and encouraging. Here are a couple stories told in the meeting that touched me in a way.

I attended an AA meeting held at the St. Stephens Catholic Church in El Paso, Texas. I was a little apprehensive as I have never attended a meeting like this and didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t sure where to go, so I went to the office to ask for directions. The woman sitting at the desk walked me over to the meeting room where I was greeted by an older gentleman. He welcomed me in and offered me some coffee and a snack. As I walked in I noticed that there were three other older gentlemen sitting at a table talking. I began to feel uncomfortable and wondered if there would be any women attending the group. I was invited to sit down and was handed a small book, which looked like a bible, and a coin. The man explained that the book is what they call the Big Book which provides information about Alcoholics Anonymous, how it works, the story of how it came into being, information about alcoholism, a listing of phone numbers to groups in other states and countries, and several

Overall, the “Welcome” statement by John Ahmann was very personable and set the tone for the meeting. Following the “Welcome” statement, Chris Sherwood provided an opening statement that expounded on the book Nehemiah from the Holy bible, chapter 1 section 4. He related this section of the bible to what they are planning to do in this community and the importance to have faith in the plans that the Lord already has for this community and how we can apply them to make the community a safer and cleaner place. After Chris’s statement, everyone was instructed, one by one, to introduce themselves by telling everyone their name and the organization they were with into a microphone that was passed around the room. After the introduction of every attendee,

I enjoyed seeing the men come in and express their excitement about the food we were serving that day. I learned that there are people less fortunate than me all around the world, and in this case, particularly close. But felt a great deal of empathy for these people. No one sets on a goal to be homeless or stand in a soup kitchen line, but many of the McKenna Center clients have been dealt some difficulties throughout their life and those challenges have led to their homeless situations. The key takeaway I learned from my faith was that God wants us to help our fellow man. I believe I worked well in the McKenna Center not only because I have experience working in this environment, but I was able to prepare food in a timely manner, given my previous experiences to

We participated in the house meetings to make ourselves known and be able to reach all the members of the community, in order to get them involve in their project. During our weekly blood sugar and blood pressure screenings, we performed a one to one meeting with the residents participating, and encouraged them to help connect the members of the community that were uninterested in participating in group activities. We placed our screening table close to the front entrance of the shelter as an attempt to connect with members of the shelter that work late and come close to the curfew

There were only a few people there and I felt a bit awkward mostly because I went in not knowing what to expect or what I was walking into which made me nervous. In the first meeting that I attended, we began by listening to someone play the piano and sing Sam Smith’s “Stay with Me.” Then we discussed and talked about how we could relate the song to God and our relationship with him. We then went on to read a devotional that concerned depression and we talked a bit about how people in our lives or ourselves have struggled with that. At the end of the meeting, we had a quick group prayer. The following week I decided to attend again. That meeting’s theme was domestic violence. We talked about how to get involved and where we can go if ourselves or someone we know is involved with domestic violence. Through these meetings, I got to hear about other students’ lives and about some of their views. These meetings helped me get to know some of the people on campus.