To start, I am not a religious person. My path of faith is different than everyone else’s and that is what makes faith so special. Not one persons faith is higher than the others, we are all just on different paths to the same thing.

Lent is a time we should be reflecting on our daily lives and how we can make ourselves better people. There are so many short cuts in life, ways to lie, distractions and ways to get in trouble. By taking the time to learn our faults, we can begin to become better people not just for ourselves but with the relationships we have with people.

Last Sunday I found myself on my alma mater and decided to go to Mass because that is one way to get the Hawk spirit I have been missing in my daily life greatly. As I sat there at Mass I could feel this calm coming over me. For just a small amount of time, all of my worries and anxiety was left at the door.

I decided that for Lent, the time people give up things like coffee and chocolate, I decided I too was going to participate. For the next 40 days I was going to leave negativity and being afraid of life at the door. I still do not know how to do this thing called life. I am still working on my routine, how to make friends, and what brings me happiness. My life is no longer controlled by writing papers and school deadlines. When I leave the office at 5pm I am done for the day but there are so many other hours in the day!

For the next 40 days I am going to create ways for myself to grow in this new stage in my life. I rarely put myself first and realize now I have much more growing to do. Lent does not have to be about giving up materialistic things or food. We need to find what we hide behind in life that prevents us from chasing our dreams. For me, my shyness and second guessing keeps me in my room. But for the next 40 days I will not have that to hide behind. I am excited to see where this will take me!

What are you hiding behind preventing you from reaching your goals?

Are you giving something up for Lent?