In this paper, I explore the process of meaning-making around alcohol consumption in two contexts: Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and a college campus. Drawing on ethnographic observation of AA meetings, interviews with AA members, and a survey of college students, I will discuss how context and interaction shape the process of alcohol-related identity construction. In Alcoholics Anonymous, members are provided with a clear, established path toward identity creation. On the college campus, however, students must give meaning to their behaviors without the aid of explicit standards or expectations.