The Buzz with Cassie: Freedom Looks Different Now
A Recovery Reflection on the Fourth of July
By Cassie Uptmore for Sober.Buzz
Before recovery, I thought freedom looked like doing whatever I wanted.
Saying yes to every invite.
Drinking without limits.
Escaping consequences with charm, tears, or luck.
Feeling “free” because I didn’t have to answer to anyone.
But that version of freedom nearly destroyed me.
It left me broken, ashamed, and dependent on everything but myself.
I wasn’t free — I was trapped.
Chained to my next fix, my next excuse, my next mistake.
Today, freedom looks different.
And this Fourth of July, as the sky lights up with fireworks and flags line the streets, I’m reflecting on the kind of independence I never knew I needed:
emotional sobriety.
spiritual autonomy.
the freedom to choose a different life.
Because in recovery, I’ve come to learn something powerful:
Freedom isn’t doing whatever you want.
Freedom is no longer doing what’s destroying you.
🔓 Freedom is waking up without shame.
No hangover.
No lost phone.
No piecing together the night before.
No apologies I can’t remember making.
Just me.
Fully awake.
Fully present.
Free from the weight of regret.
🇺🇸 Independence is not doing it alone.
Before recovery, I wore self-reliance like a badge of honor.
If I needed help, I thought it meant I was weak.
Now I know the truth:
Isolation isn’t independence.
Connection is.
Recovery has taught me that community isn’t a crutch — it’s a cornerstone.
Asking for help.
Answering honestly when someone says “How are you?”
Letting others walk with me on hard days.
That’s not dependence. That’s courage.
🎇 Recovery is rebellion.
In a world that profits off our pain, choosing sobriety is an act of resistance.
It’s saying no to the lie that numbing is easier.
It’s choosing discomfort over denial.
It’s declaring:
“I will no longer abandon myself.”
Recovery is choosing to feel instead of flee.
To face instead of fake.
To heal instead of hide.
🎆 This Fourth of July, I’ll still celebrate.
Not just with hot dogs and fireworks — though I love those, too.
But with the deep, quiet joy of knowing I am free.
Free from secrets.
Free from cycles.
Free from the voice that once told me I’d never change.
I’m not just independent from alcohol.
I’m independent from the belief that I am unworthy of healing.
So here’s to a different kind of freedom.
The kind that lasts longer than a weekend.
The kind that lives in your bones.
And if you’re still fighting for it, still clawing your way toward the light —
Let this be a reminder:
You are not behind.
You are not broken.
You are not alone.
Happy Independence Day, friends.
Keep going. The freedom is worth it.
— Cassie 💛
Written by Cassie Uptmore for Sober.Buzz
