Hi there, I'm Burke, but I use the display name here, MindfulSilence. I am the creator of this little sober-themed website, and I'm super excited to finally open the public doors to see what happens! I'm really not expecting too much, but maybe people here-and-there will come to enjoy it. 😊😋

Anyway - I started this website, primarily to help me stay focused on something that would help keep my sober. In April of 2025, I managed to have a few drinks before running out to get a cheap, greasy, fast-food cheeseburger. Even worse - I'm a chef by profession! None the less, I was pulled over by local authorities, and I was charged with a DWAI that I'm currently going through.

Now, this isn't the first hijinks that alcohol has brought to my life, however, it is one of the most empowering. If you're not currently aware, a DWAI is one step lower than DUI based om BAC, but it's nearly just as expensive. I am attending classes, taking drug tests, reporting to a probation officer, and about to start my 48 hours of community service in the next week or so.

Without airing my entire laundry basket, I do use the term hijinks lightly. There have been some very rough times in the last decade, primarily caused by my drinking. I've encountered lots of situations I wish I didn't, I've been in places I wish I didn't ever go to, and overall, drinking excessively like I have been for the last decade has brought . . . not much more than a handful of stories.

That is what inspired me to make Sober-Thoughtz. I'm taking this DWAI as a serious lesson-learned, and focusing my energy on being grateful that I had a guardian angel looking over me that night. While being ticketed is not ideal, or a fun process, it certainly is a much better "wake up call" than somebody being seriously injured or killed. All of this would be so much more traumatic if I had wrecked my car, or killed an innocent family member who was doing nothing wrong. It's gut-wrenching.

Present day - I am now roughly 7 months sober, close to 8. I'm really not quite sure the exact sobriety date, but I do have a general timeframe. Sober-Thoughtz has been my project for the last couple of months, and it was primarily supposed to be just for me. For my Sober-Thoughtz. And really, aside from just writing in a notebook, it's other purpose was to give me . . . something to do. Something to keep me busy while I focus on life . . . work, probation, not drinking, clean drug tests . . . and it has.

However, as I kept building, I kept seeing things online about the big "Sober movement," and people deciding for one reason or another, they want to be sober. So I did some more reading, and found that other than giant social media platforms, there wasn't much out there in terms of "sober online communities" that weren't focused around some type of "endless algorithm" display filled with ads, click-bait and spam -- the exact reason I left all my social media behind.

And that's when it hit me -- I decided I'd make Sober-Thoughtz have some type of social-interaction along with it's main purpose. I'm not sure if anybody will ever see this, anyway. I'm bound to share this with people I know at some point, I suppose. I don't think I have any current plan for deploying ads to gain traction, or to try being some huge, social platform. But - on the Internet, anything can be stumbled across, and now if anybody does, there's a place for them here, also. 😊

Well, it by no means is nearly as sophisticated as social media you might be used to. In fact, a better way to describe it would be "social literature." While the community does have basic social tools (direct messages, profiles, a group chatroom, basic status/update posts w/ photo attachment) - it is primarily going to be useful for people who want to write and share their story, inside an environment that was built for writing and literature posting. A writing community for sobriety, if you will.

For the time being, until other people arrive, and if they arrive, primarily what you'll find here is my personal collection of . . . "thoughtz." That's really what all of this was for - in hopes that maybe somebody could stumble across what I have to say and be able to relate to it. As it took a few turns into a social aspect also, I think I was doing that for "just in case" purposes. If somebody did enjoy this and want to write with me, instead of just reading - they could! Naturally, that turned into a dominos.

"Well, if they sign up to write, they obviously will need some sort of profile," which turned into, "that means they need a little avatar to be displayed," which turned into, "we may as well build cover photos for the profile and stay semi-current," which turned into, "well, what if they read something they like from another person who's writing here? they need to message each other!" - and so on. It just kept building and building and building - and now, there's finally a mostly-finished project. The last piece of me is to start writing, and then see where it goes!

Alternatively, if you've managed to read this far, I do have hopes of creating a small "discussion board" inside Sober-Thoughtz as well. Some type of area where members can go to post, comment and share in a more discussion-style setting as well. That's somewhat on the back-burner, as it would primarily be another project to simply keep me busy and learning more new things. The last time I was writing any form of code was nearly a decade ago. So there are lots of new things for me to learn!

In any manner, I hope that this introduction post covered the basics. It's a bit longer than the other posts will be, or so I think. It is definitely my personality to continue rambling, and for Sober-Thoughtz, the effect of "typing of posting" is what I'm shooting for. While some posts may undergo editing and perfection - and if you choose to write here, you can certainly approach it any way you'd like - most of them will be similar to this. Quick typing, mostly correct grammar, hopefully near-perfect spelling (but by no means would I submit for a college essay, ha!). Real, and raw, jotted down and posted. 😋

I should stop here now, though, as I do have some more things to tweak and modify. But I am excited that I was finally able to create a post, that would be organized, posted, and functional! Now, we just need to see where the rest of this is going to bring me. I hope you enjoy what you find here, or, at the very least. find some relatable content that helps you get through any rough times you may be going through. That's really the point of all of this - and if more people join in - the better. 😊