There comes this special day every year when total strangers on the OUT bus approach you, lick their thumb and reach for your forehead as they tell you, “Hey come here, you’ve got something on your face.”
Ash Wednesday marked the start of the Lenten season worldwide that leads up to Easter Sunday. For many, this day is the first reminder of what they will be “giving up” for the next 40 days. Little pow-wows are taking place all around as friends ask each other for ideas on what to give up while giving positive feedback to the ideas someone else has already listed.
The practice comes from one of Lent’s oldest pillars — fasting. It also comes from mothers across the globe who take this opportunity to stop buying Oreos and replace your afternoon snack with carrots.
But as we grow older and try to reassure ourselves that we are in fact adults, why not try a different approach to underscoring our adulthood?
In a world where everyone finds it increasingly hard to say no (yes, Fear Of Missing Out is real and crippling), I think it’s time we explore something I’ve been incorporating both successfully and unsuccessfully into my Lenten season for a few years now: trying to do something — or some things — better.
Any person can say they won’t drink Diet Cokes or eat a chicken biscuit for breakfast. However, Lent has always been a time of self-challenge and renewal. By training ourselves to make better habits, we come out of the season stronger than before.
The approach can be as radical or low-key as you wish. A good place I always start is some personal habit; some ideas are making your bed every morning or just brushing your teeth before bed.
But don’t forget to push the envelope during this time.
Every day the world changes — stay plugged in by devoting a little time each day to reading your favorite newspaper for the latest headlines. Or try to pick up a new book and read a chapter or two every day. You will surprise yourself with how easy it is to unwind at night with a few pages of literature.
While you may seem to think it takes a special kind of person to walk confidently around campus with a bit of dirt on their face, it doesn’t take much effort to be more aware of your current habits. There’s an old saying that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit, but by my count, 40 is much longer to allow for even the master procrastinator to join.
Elton Nguyen is a senior pharmacy student from Madison.
