Sometimes, those observing Lent annoy me.

Lent is an annual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 weekdays to Easter, according to dictionary.com.

During Lent, which began last week, Christians are supposed to make adjustments in their lives to cleanse their souls. It is a modern tradition for Christians to give up unhealthy or addictive practices.

Lent’s intentions are good. In theory, a time of personal evaluation and sacrifice can only lead to self-improvement; however, people have found ways to ensure that Lent is more about selfishness than sacrifice.

To view human excess, look no further than the pre-Lenten celebration of Mardi Gras. Churches used to hold festivals on this day to have fun and eat forbidden foods before Lent began.

Now, Mardi Gras is associated more with “Girls Gone Wild” than preparing for Lent. Plastic beads are badges of honor for girls who think showing their chests requires some sort of bravery and talent.

Many college coeds find somewhere to drink themselves to death. Mardi Gras is literally “Fat Tuesday” because of the increase in the world-wide average of beer guts on this day.

After going wild for Mardi Gras, people should be more prepared to give up something for Lent.

This doesn’t seem to be the case.

People make promises for Lent, and after a day, they quit trying to keep that promise.

A friend told me he gave up swearing for Lent. As he told me this, he dropped something on his toe and yelled a word that rhymes with “quit” and starts with “sh.”

Why do people think quitting something for one day proves any type of discipline? One cannot say he or she is sacrificing something for Lent if that person is going to continue the habit a week after Ash Wednesday.

It’s even worse when people give up something they would never do in the first place. If I gave up eating cottage cheese, I would not be doing something for my character; I would be doing my stomach a favor.

People have no willpower in today’s society. I do not give up anything for Lent, but I have given up certain habits for my well-being. It’s sad when people cannot sacrifice something for 40 days.

Because I am so harsh toward everyone else about Lent, I did some self-observation. There have to be some habits that I could never give up if I tried. I’ve come up with a few routines I might try to quit.

I will try to stop the following:

• Listening to old NSYNC songs when no one is in the room.

• Trying to recreate the dance steps to “Bye Bye Bye” during the prior.

• Pretending to sleep when people knock on the door and I don’t want to talk to them.

• Plotting to capture and sell Donald Trump’s hair.

• Showering. Well, at least showering in the freshmen dorms. I leave those showers feeling dirtier.

• Writing columns for the Stater that could offend readers.

Oops. I already failed.

Marchae Grair is a freshman broadcast journalism major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].