There’s a six-week period during spring semester when people start this thing called “Lent.” One day in February or March, after Mardi Gras, you start seeing all these people walking around with charcoal on their foreheads, and maybe if you’re not in the know, you might spend a significant amount of time thinking “Hey buddy, uh, you know, you’ve got a little something on your face there.”

Then you’ll probably start to hear a collective grumbling on campus, including sober declarations such as “oh, no, I can’t, I gave up sweets for Lent,” to accompany some long faces that stay that way until Easter. God forbid you should be the unlucky roommate of a caffeine addict who decides to give up coffee for a month and a half. Perhaps it makes sense that, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word “Lent” comes from the Old English for “springtime” and the West Germanic “long days.”

There is a fundamental problem with that image painted above, which some are not unexposed to: fasting is supposed to be freeing.

While it is generally accepted in religious circles that fasting is about repentance of sin, discipline, and a particular, perhaps heightened focusing on God, for the non-religious or less-structured, fasting often means giving up unhealthy foods or habits. As a Christian, this all sounds well and good to me, but what happens after Lent (or before it ends, if the “fastee’s” resolve dissolves a little prematurely)? In my observation, many people return to their “old ways.”

Of course, we as people fail at a lot of things. It’s not bad—in fact, I think it’s a blessing that this country actually allows us to fail. A little failure is healthy. But a consistent failing of discipline is surely not.

One part of the solution to this problem is to get back to the why—why are you fasting? People in religious circles, especially—myself included—have a tendency to fast just because it’s on the calendar. Someone in the church told them to, said “God requires you to fast, and now is the time.” Many of you have even been, unfortunately, guilted into giving something up.

Matthew 6:16 of the Bible, says, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting.” Emphasis on the “when,” not “if.” You may have heard it before, evidence that everyone should fast. Buddhism suggests it as well, as a practice of self-control and door to wisdom, much like the stereotypical form of meditation. But if you’re not ready to fast, and if you believe in God, and you didn’t get “the nudge” to give something up, don’t do it. If you’re not “all in,” “balls to the wall,” “go big or go home” about what you’re giving up for six weeks, or you have no intention of continuing a less-indulgent lifestyle regarding whatever your vice, it’s really pointless to fast.

Apologies are probably due to the non-religious readers if the above statements haven’t resonated, but in truth, fasting can benefit everyone. One thing to remember (again, for everyone) is that you don’t have to do it for Lent, and you don’t have to do it for six weeks. If someone were an in-season varsity athlete, for example, I wouldn’t recommend fasting from carbohydrates for a month and half. If you have a big test coming up, don’t spend the 24 -hours prior studying without eating anything. Or the biggest one, don’t fast if it wasn’t your idea; make it wholly yours. For those that believe in God, if someone thinks that he (or she) is leading you in that direction, affirm it, don’t bend to it, especially if it means you being cranky for most of March and April.

Now, onto the “do’s”: use the time wisely. If that means taking the time you spend at lunch in the caf to get ahead in class, great, but there should also be time set aside for rest and reflection. As over-involved Gusties, we like to just get things done; but if fasting simply means “go go go” with everything else, you’ll get worn out. It’s a fact. As far as reflection goes, that doesn’t have to mean “get your life figured out.” It could mean having time to dwell on a relationship you have neglected recently, or maybe a philosophical concept you have struggled with, but just being completely still and silent for 15 minutes a day could be right for you—fasting from school, you could say.

Moral of the story: don’t force a fast. Fasting looks different to everyone, but as long as it looks good on you (and I don’t mean it makes you lose weight), you’re headed in the right direction.