I present an excerpt from a piece I wrote for my advanced creative nonfiction course for your reading pleasure.
TW: mentions of alcohol
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Tequila is the drink of my ancestral land, birthed for centuries from agave, a legacy that brings pleasure, pain or both. Orange juice is sharp and sour as it is poured to the rhythm of memory, gurgling with a rising crescendo for a drink meant for nighttime instead of early mornings with a plate of eggs. Grenadine syrup is the by-product of an abused pomegranate, a fruit that makes the hungry anxious to roughly dig into its thick skin with the promise of a sweet and sticky reward, now a rich liquid that feeds the eye with tinted beauty, and the mouth with the taste of processed sugar. Together, but unmixed, these ingredients become a Tequila Sunrise; an artful drink imitating a morning sunrise sipped into the darkness of mouths thirsty for a chance to throw themselves into the beams of a promise of a better day.
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Tequila is a reminder that pleasure does not last because pain can begin to bubble in the stomach from the body’s fear of being poisoned. Orange juice the morning after is a bad idea because too much acid in the stomach can invoke a relapse into a churned stomach that seeks relief. Grenadine syrup is too processed to consume on its own; therefore, it is important to refrain from drinking too many mixed drinks. Be careful with alcohol because the rush towards euphoria while intoxicated ceases to exist when the veil of splendor is lifted and there is nothing left but plastic bags filled with vomit and an unimpressed partner who has fallen out of love.
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Sometimes, alcohol is so alluring that someone can choose to terminate a relationship in order to guiltlessly engage in bar nights that offer release from the pressures of life, like the lime being squeezed into the shot of tequila that first-time drinkers are scared to consume yet later discover how exhilarating it is that the body can now perform a previously forbidden act.
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Tequila can be used as an anesthetic, the chosen cure to lull the consciousness into a numbing state; it can shoot through the veins to warm the body against the shivers of aching pain. Orange juice is full of Vitamin C to help strengthen the body against an invasion of tiny disease-causing molecules. Grenadine syrup is a satisfying substance for a sweet tooth, the reason behind a smile full of sugar. Mixed together, these are the possible causes of a swollen gut and diabetes. Unfortunately, a Tequila Sunrise cannot mend the broken heart; it can only numb the cracks.