Lent is a Christian observance in the six-week period leading up to Easter, which is seen as a time of preparation to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is customary during this time for people to give up something that they would usually eat to correspond with how Jesus fasted and prayed in the desert in his time. Although I’m not religious myself, I’ve always found participating in the practice of Lent to be a very rewarding thing. It encourages a valuable form of self-discipline that can be difficult to enforce otherwise.
This is especially true for us students, who can often find it hard to get a good balance of everything at university. I personally cannot count the number of times I’ve fallen into the bad habit of eating out when I have a full fridge at home. Therefore, whether you are observing Lent as a Christian or not, I have compiled a list of ideas of what you can give up below.
Alcohol
As a student, this one can be quite a challenge. Especially if you have just finished up with Dry January. However, getting rid of alcohol can never really be a bad thing, leaving you with the primary benefits of a lot more money in the bank account to use elsewhere and the opportunity to actually attend lectures and seminars without a hangover.
Netflix
…or indeed any other streaming service you use. While it is nice to be able to hop into bed after a long day at university and stick on your comfort show, why not try reading a book instead? It can be difficult to find the time to read for pleasure as a student, given that we have so much academic reading to do for our degrees, and this could be a great way to get back into being a bookworm.
Wordle
To be candid, I’m not a Wordle fan. I tried to download and play it at the beginning of this year and just couldn’t get into it. However, all my friends are obsessed with the app. So much so that it seems to be turning into an addiction. Although it doesn’t necessarily take up much of your day, and is more of an educational thing to be using on your phone rather than social media, there are plenty of other similar games you could be playing off-screen. For example, why not try to complete the crossword in a newspaper?
Fast Food
Out of all of the options on this list, this one is the biggest personal challenge for me. As someone who goes out quite a bit, I constantly fall into the trap of ending up in McDonald’s or the local kebab shop at the end of the night. Even when I go onto campus, it’s difficult for me to avoid getting a Subway for lunch. Nevertheless, I have found that fast food and takeaways are great things to give up. You can save a bit more and not let your food shop go to waste, while also heading toward a cleaner and healthier lifestyle.
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