When I was younger, I had a really bad habit of biting my nails. My mom tried everything she could to break my habit. She painted my nails and even gave me time-outs for doing so. Regardless, I would scrape off the nail polish and always found myself biting my nails.   

Raised as a Catholic, I was taught that every Lent, you gave up something you liked. Some years it was candy, other years it was eating chips. 

One Lent, however, I decided to give up my bad habit of biting my nails. 

While it was a challenge, it was not as hard as I thought it would be. 

In the end, on Easter Sunday I looked at my nails and they had nicely grown and I didn’t want to ever bite them again.  

As a girl, I realized the endless possibilities of painting my nails and getting French manicures. More importantly, I learned the true meaning of Lent. 

Lent is a 40-day period before Easter which begins on Ash Wednesday. It is a time of penance, fasting and in which Christians self-examine their lives. 

According to the website, Catholic Online, the 40 days are based on “the 40 years of wilderness wandering by the Israelites and our Lord’s 40 days in the wilderness at which point He was tempted by Satan.”  

The most common Lent ritual is to give something up. It must be something that we like, but we know is wrong. 

“The goal is not to abstain from sin for the duration of Lent but to root sin out of our lives forever,” states Catholic Online. 

In my case, it worked. I resisted temptation and ruled out my “sin” of biting my nails.

Another common ritual during Lent is to not eat meat. According to the Catholic’s Church official rules for fasting and abstinence on americancatholic.org, “abstinence forbids the use of meat, but not eggs, milk products or condiments of animal fat.”   

Some people only abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and Holy Friday, while others only do so every Friday during Lent.  

I have seen many variations to the abstinence of meat and only until recently have I seen people that I know fast.

I have never fasted during Lent, but I do attempt to not eat meat on Fridays.   

This year, in an effort to eat healthier, I decided to give up “bad” carbs for Lent. I’ve realized carbs are my biggest weakness when it comes to food, so I’m giving up bread, tortillas, pasta and any other refined grains. 

Some of my friends have decided to give up alcoholic beverages, Facebook, and eating out at fast food restaurants.

“Lent is about conversion, turning our lives more completely over to Christ and his way of life,” states Catholic Online. “That always involves giving up sin in some form.”

While I do not consider myself to be “super” religious, I look at Lent as an opportunity to set a goal for myself and make a positive change in my life. 

What are you giving up for Lent? Have your Lent resolutions become life-long changes?