I went to three AA meetings to get a better, more personal understanding of how addiction affects people. The three meetings I went to were the AA Discussion in Costa Mesa on Friday, the Pride+ Program in Newport Beach on Friday, and the Women's Discussion in Costa Mesa on Friday. The meetings all lasted an hour. All the meetings I attended were discussion meetings. All meetings had a moderator/leader who helped guide the meeting. The meeting began with the moderator passing around a basket for the rent for this meeting. The first time this happened I wasn't expecting it so I felt bad that I couldn't donate due to my lack of money so I made sure to bring at least one dollar at future meetings. The moderator then asked everyone to introduce themselves. Everyone said they introduced themselves using "Hello, my name is ____ and I'm an alcoholic." I had heard this phrase used in movies and shows before, but I didn't know it was actually used in meetings, so it surprised me a little. Once all the introductions were made, the moderator then asked someone to read the 12 steps from the Big Book. After reading all the steps, people started sharing their experiences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayAt the first meeting I attended, the speakers meeting, as soon as I walked in the door I wanted to get out. I walked in and saw a group of people who didn't look like me and made me feel uncomfortable. The room was mostly made up of older men, most appearing to be middle aged. There were a few women; I remember 3 or 4. There were a few people who looked like they were almost my age, and there was a small child. I remember looking around at everyone in the room and trying to figure out if there was anyone else from that class. As the meeting progressed, I felt more comfortable. As people began to talk about their personal experiences, I forgot my own discomfort and listened to their experiences. Yet I knew these were people I would probably never meet in my own life, because I could imagine very few places where our social circles would overlap. At the end of the meeting, the moderator asked us to hold hands while saying a prayer. The prayer that was chosen was "Our Father", this prayer was actually chosen in all three meetings, so I'm not sure if other prayers are used as well. Saying a prayer was a somewhat strange experience for me. I was raised Catholic, but I don't identify with any religion. I was able to recite most of the prayer from memory, but I struggled with some parts, because firstly, I was much more comfortable reciting it in Spanish, and secondly, I didn't have haven't recited the prayer for so long. I have to admit that I felt a little uncomfortable holding the hand of a tall man in his fifties while saying a prayer that didn't really mean much to me, but it wasn't. not uncomfortable enough to make me not want to do it. I will never attend meetings again. My second and third experiences were much better than the first, and I believe this is because both of these meetings were aimed at specific groups. The other two meetings I went to were for LGBT alcoholics and women alcoholics. I thinkthat because of my membership in these two groups, I did not feel as out of place during these two other meetings. I felt like the people in these meetings were more like me and might be people I could interact with in my everyday life. What was particularly striking about the LGBT meeting was the age of the people present. First, there were many more women present and the meeting was also made up of much younger people. The majority of people present appeared to me to be in their twenties. I didn't know exactly what I thought about that. On one hand, I was happy that this group of people existed, because it would surely be a good environment for a young, LGBT person struggling with addiction, but I was also saddened by the number of young people struggling with addiction . The first meeting, along with what I had seen on television or in the movies, led me to believe that AA meetings were normally for older people, but this meeting showed me that this was not the case. Another thing I observed about this particular meeting was that when the question was asked who was willing to sponsor, more people raised their hands at this meeting than in the other two. I'm not sure why, but it may have something to do with the age of the meeting attendees, but I can only speculate. It also seemed that this group had more connections outside of meetings. As I was leaving the meeting, I noticed a fairly large group of attendees talking outside, something I hadn't noticed at the other two meetings. It seemed like there was a social aspect to meeting him. As for the final encounter, as I said before, I was much more comfortable in this one than in the first. Like the first though; this meeting also had mostly older women. The average age of the women present was probably around their late 40s and early 50s. What was interesting about this meeting was that of the six or so younger women present, three of them had a child with them. At the first meeting, one in three women present had a child with them. It was something I had never thought about before, but it became clear that childcare can be a barrier, especially for women. Even if these women had come with their children, there were probably many others who were unable to attend because they had no one to watch over their children or because they did not want to risk broadcast the meeting. That being said, all the kids present were pretty well behaved and no one seemed to mind their presence. In fact, people gave them candy and treats and generally seemed to enjoy their presence. Overall, I think the meeting that most closely resembled my expectations was the first. I really expected there to be more men and I expected them to be older. Honestly, I had no idea that AA meetings existed for more specific groups, but I'm glad they exist, because I can see people being deterred from attending general meetings, because they can't see -not have as much in common between them and the group of people present. I believe it is important for the AA person to feel some sort of connection with those with whom they attend meetings so that they can get more out of those meetings. The aspect of these meetings that I personally enjoyed was the discussion. It was very informative and memorable..