What if I think the tipsy me is a better person? He's much more outgoing, interesting, and far less socially awkward.
Beside doing things you regret when drunk - like making an ass out of yourself when talking to more sober people in bars or feeling shitty the next day... it does not make you experience yourself as a better person when sober. You have to be drunk to be that better person. So you drink. It does not help - at least that's my experience. Getting drunk can be fun but...where to stop?
Being outgoing for me is strongly connected to my self-esteem and feeling of self-worth. If it's down the drain I hardly leave the house and run away from social interactions without alcohol. If I accumulated some self-worth and feeling fine with myself I enjoy going out and being social in a sober state even more.
I doubt that you are more socially awkward for other people when sober but your anxiety makes you so uncomfortable that you have this urge to grab a drink and have a feeling of relaxation. After a few beers you feel better...
Be careful it's a vicious circle and it's worth to spend some energy into forcing yourself into social situation in a sober state. It can be fun to sit sober in a bar and watch all the people getting more and more drunk.
Amazing how such a relatively small guy could be that coherent after 17 beers....and could put away 40 in one sitting.
I’ll just leave you with this:
http://www.cracked.com/blog/9-youtube-videos-that-prove-anyo...
Not so much to prove that you can do it, but more for the change that anyone can see. You could hardly tell that it’s the same person in the first videos as the last ones.
P.S.
I found the more relevant article I was looking for:
http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-things-you-dont-realize-about-...
It goes into more detail about what I mentioned above – how you are a different person while drunk, but you might not realize this until you quit.