Alcoholic Anonymous Meeting Reflection Paper

Words: 1558
Pages: 7

When I first became aware of this assignment I was apprehensive and nervous. I have never considered attending an alcoholic anonymous or narcotic anonymous meeting since none of these topics relate to me personally. Locating an open meeting was difficult because of confidentially and I wanted to come for observation purposes instead of participating. I focused my search more towards alcoholic anonymous meetings compared to narcotic anonymous meetings because I have many family members who consume alcohol on a regular basis and I have witnessed the negative effects it has had on their lives and I presumed that by attending this meeting I could learn something new to offer my family, share with them my experience, and extend an invitation for …show more content…
The building is older and appears to have been there a while. The room was very basic in its appearance and looked like it served multi-purposes instead of just being held for meetings. The chairs were aligned in rows, similar to a church setting. The area was very open, I did not need to sign in, however I did explain to the receptionist my reason for attending and she nicely told me that I was free to join and they were glad I was in attendance. I took a seat in the back so that attention was not drawn to me and also so that I could observe everyone to see what was going on. In total there was about 15 people in attendance, all of them were European American except myself, and most of them were men. The age range varied excluding myself, the youngest person appeared to be in their mid 40’s with the oldest person around 70. At first, I felt very awkward and out of place because I thought everyone would be stirring at me and questioning why I was there. However, no on stared at me or made me feel uncomfortable. It was a very calm, peaceful place where everyone seemed to understand and relate to one another without having to say