Today I wanted to talk to you about my experiences during Lent 2016.
*pauses* Warning, this is probably going to be a long blog post. You've been warned. *resumes*
If you're not familiar with Lent, it's a religious season observed by Catholics where, traditionally, people give up something as a form of fasting. On special days during Lent, such as Ash Wednesday and every Friday during the duration of the season, meat is not consumed, but fish is permitted. I decided to do this for the entire 40 days of Lent. I gave up meat. So basically a Catholic's Friday during Lent was my every day for 40 days. And I survived. Haha, so it's not that serious, but it was for the most part, successful. I had always wondered if I could live a vegetarian, or rather pescatarian, lifestyle. 2016 was the year I tested it out and found that I probably could. Thank goodness that I love fish and seafood.
I have a meal plan and the cafeteria on campus is basically buffet style, so I always had a lot of choices, which helped during Lent. Lemme tell you though, I had so many grilled cheeses and veggie burgers because I couldn't eat burgers (which I missed the most) or chicken sandwiches. Also, a lot of potatoes. It wasn't bad at all. However, it was hard at times when I would eat with friends who were eating burgers, or something with meat that I wanted, like pasta with chicken. Many times, I had to eat the vegetarian or vegan option that was available, like tofu, which again, wasn't bad at all. I don't mind tofu. One time, I went to Chipotle. I usually order a chicken burrito, but seeing as I couldn't for the time being, I ordered a burrito with sofritas, Chipotle's vegan tofu "meat" option. It tasted like meat and was still delicious. I appreciated that giving up meat made me try things that I normally wouldn't because I like trying new food. While some people have a "usual" at restaurants, I try to eat something new every time, only repeating menu items every now and then.
When I told people that I gave up meat for Lent, many of them looked at me in disbelief. And when I ordered sandwiches and they found out that there was no meat in it, they felt that my meal was incomplete. I mean, it had predominantly vegetables, yes, but lotsa cheese too, so I still got protein out of it. I also got a lot of protein from eggs during breakfast. Seeing the word "vegetarian" next to the word "burrito" thrilled me. Breakfast burritos that I could eat were the highlight of my days. Some assume a vegetarian diet as a way of losing weight, but this was not the case for me. I honestly didn't feel that different during my pescatarian days. I still ate a lot like the teenage boy that I am. Granted, it was only forty days, but still.
I only broke Lent twice. But they weren't really my fault, so I'm still calling it a success for the year. The first time was when I grabbed this peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or something like that, from my cafeteria. I looked at the menu label where I grabbed it and it didn't say it had any meat in it. However, when I bit into it, I discovered that they added bacon to it. I quickly spit it out, but it was still in my mouth for a while as I chewed it. I'm more of a sausage than a bacon person anyway, so I didn't need that. The other time was when I went to a family party and there was lumpia, Filipino fried egg rolls. I asked if they had meat in them, if they were spring rolls with vegetables, and I was told that they did not contain meat. So I gladly started chomping away at an egg roll, only to find out in the middle of eating it that there was meat. I already ate half of it by the time I realized the meat was there, so I just finished that one lumpia. It was great.
What I've taken away from this is that I think that given the choice of becoming a pescatarian for life or continuing the omnivorous diet that I've always followed, I'd choose being an omnivore. I could probably be a pescatarian my whole life, but I wouldn't want to. Vegetarian or vegan diets are very different and I probably wouldn't be able to do either... but you never know... we'll see, but prolly not. I like eating meat.
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| Here's me reflecting on life when I was on my Easter hike. I was probably just starting at the pretty lake tbh. |
As a side sacrifice or fast from something during Lent, I gave up social media. *gasps* Ridiculous to think about during this age of electronic media, but I've been doing it every year for the past couple of years during Lent. For me, this specifically means no YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, or Twitter. To make this easier, I delete the apps from my phone to avoid temptation. It's refreshing not having to worry about constantly checking social media and keeping myself updated on what everyone is up to, but sometimes it causes a little anxiety when you feel like you're missing out on something. YouTube is the hardest because I love it and watching videos is what I do to pass the time. It was especially annoying when I was reading articles with embedded videos and I couldn't watch them. Hilariously, giving up Snapchat made my friends suffer more than I did. "Lexx, that's the only way that I communicate with you! Who else am I gunna send ugly faces to?" Text me, friends. So many of my friends, like my roommate, were furious and anxiously awaited Easter so that I could snap them back.
You might be thinking, "Lexx, but you blogged throughout Lent, with YouTube videos in the posts. Doesn't that break Lent?" Why yes, reader. Yes it does. But seeing as it's technically for school for the time being, I permitted myself to use it. Honestly, I broke the social media fast so many times though. I did good with Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, but I caved too many times for YouTube, especially for music. Ariana Grande and 5H released new music and you thought that I wouldn't be on that the moment they released new songs? You thought wrong. But I justify it by classifying the social media fasting as a personal sacrifice, aka not part of Lent. That would be the meat fasting.
One last reflection before I leave you. During the social media fast, I had a greater realization of how dependent I, and others around me, are on our phones. I had so much more free time during Lent because I wasn't allowed to watch YouTube videos or check social media. When checking Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, it's often every five minutes to no new content, but I do it anyway, to pass the time. I do that instead of homework or completing other responsibilities. When I had my friends visit me at school a while ago, we still had a great time together, but there were times when conversations died down or it became silent and all of them would reach for their phones and tap away to avoid potential awkward moments, looking down at their screens instead of talking to each other. People do this in the elevators in my dorm as well to escape the perpetual awkward feeling that exists in those transportation boxes (you know what I mean if you've ever been in an elevator). Not having as much reason to reach for my phone at the time, I observed their behaviors more. It bothers me that this is a thing, but I can't say I haven't been guilty of doing it myself. People are always on their phones. During commercials, walking to and from classes, even when driving or biking, people are on their phones (not safe, kids, don't do it, especially when on the road). I've made myself more aware of these behaviors and try not to reach for my phone as much. I also try to take more time experiencing and observing the things around me. Especially when I'm with people, I resist the urge to check my phone and try to make conversation. I like to talking to people and learning about what they've been up to.
Did you do anything for Lent this year? What are your thoughts are fasting meat and/or social media?
xx
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