With Lent having ended on 2 April, it is now time for me to look back and see how I endured the remainder of my Lent.
As I wrote the first section of the blog, I had been giving up meal deals, takeaways and social smoking/vaping for around two weeks.
Despite a small bump in the road at King’s Cross station, it was going surprisingly well.
Having now made it through the other side after 40 days of fighting temptations, I am immensely proud of myself!
Meal deals
Firstly, when it comes to meal deals, I can gladly confirm that I did not make a trip to Coop for my lunch - which greatly helped my bank account.
Instead, I decided to maximise the efficiency of my time and batch cook all of my meals.
At a time, I would cook between three and four portions of the same meal so I would certainly have lunch and dinner in containers to pop in my bag ahead of a busy day at university.
My newfound love for batch cooking is an example of how Lent can help to form positive habits.
It also meant that I was able to go to bed and sleep for that little bit longer, as I was not trying to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner before leaving the house.
Takeaways
Regarding the other half of my food-related sacrifices, I can happily reflect on the fact that I did not have any takeaways.
Batch cooking was also a great help in this, as I always had some form of meal in the fridge of freezer ready to eat.
One thing that makes doing Lent worth it is the self-satisfaction from having accomplished personal goals you have set and seeing that you can truly adapt your lifestyle.
Moreover, one special thing with food-related withdrawals for Lent is the tremendous feeling of having your cravings satisfied.
For me on Good Friday, I celebrated my successful Lent with fish, chips and mushy peas with my auntie and uncle. It undoubtedly was even more delicious because of the taste of accomplishment.
Social smoking/vaping
When considering the other part of my Lent pledges to give up social smoking and social vaping. I am also delighted to announce that these were substantially successfully.
With me not vaping for the entire course of 40 days, proving to myself that it is a bad habit which I can completely eradicate.
On the other hand, we are all human and making mistakes is normal. That being said I did have a drag of a cigarette on St. Patrick’s Day.
Considering my own foolishness, I was so engrossed in a conversation with a girl I was making friends with outside a bar, and she was smoking.
Then as she offered me a draw, I accepted before instantly realising as smoke was coming out of my mouth that I had broken my Lent pledge.
Final thoughts
Upon reflection, I am utterly chuffed to say that I only had two instances where I broke my Lent.
Having taken on four key pledges, I knew that it would be difficult to try and complete. But what I have learned is that I am far more strong-willed than what I give myself credit for.
Personally, I have learned to be less self-deprecating. This experience with Lent has fully normalised to me that it is okay to make mistakes - further acting as a stark reminder to always have faith.
Lent is something that I wholeheartedly intend to do again next year, and I cannot wait to see what I decide to give up next year.
Read Callum's Part 1 of 'What Lent means to me as a student'.
More information about Lent and Ash Wednesday is available from the Wellbeing team.
If you would like to explore support around your faith and/or spirituality, you can contact our chaplaincy team.
By Callum, a second year Combined Honours and Student Content Creator