Lent is a tradition that has taken place within Christianity for centuries, and for those who participate, it serves as a 40-day period leading up to Easter to remember the sacrifice that Christ made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freshman Taylor Moore has been participating in Lent since she was a freshman in high school. She said each Lent season has allowed her to make a daily, or even hourly, sacrifice of something worldly so she can turn her attention to an eternal sacrifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been kind of eye-opening to see how dependent I am on whatever it was that I decided to give up,\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year, Moore chose to give up using mirrors or any type of reflective device, which she said has forced her to focus less on herself, especially in the mornings, and set her thoughts and energy more on God and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re just constantly reminded of the presence of God when you can\u2019t have something that you normally would,\u201d Moore said. \u201cGod has become more because I have had to become so much less.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Junior Jordan Hornsby grew up participating in Lent and Ash Wednesday with her family and church at home. She said that her church always tried to emphasize making a sacrifice that would help them emulate Jesus and the types of sacrifices that he made, and that every time they felt themselves reaching for or wanting what they gave up, it could serve as a reminder to pray and turn to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hornsby said one year that particularly stood out to her was when she and her friends decided to read through the Gospels in addition to giving something up for Lent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn addition to giving something up, we took something on, and that was really cool to see \u2014 not only what it looks like to sacrifice something, but to take something on that will bring you closer to God as well,\u201d Hornsby said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hornsby said Lent serves as a season each year to reflect on the magnitude of Jesus\u2019s sacrifice and how important it truly is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt puts my mind in the right space because, so many times, I feel like Easter \u2014 or really any holiday or anything in life \u2014 can just sneak up on you, but having Lent 40 days before just was a constant reminder of, \u2018This is to remember Jesus giving up his life and then resurrecting from the dead,\u2019\u201d Hornsby said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Junior Easton Davis said he was not originally planning on participating in Lent, but his viewpoint changed when he went to an Ash Wednesday service and got the ash cross marked on his forehead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really loved it because they said, \u2018From dust you came and to dust you will return,\u2019 which is something that I\u2019ve heard before, but this year it had an action,\u201d Davis said. \u201cThe ash on the forehead tied to it, and therefore had meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a whole, Davis said this Lent season for him looks like being more aware of his innate selfishness and rejecting it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMe and the people participating in Lent are giving up something for 40 days, and it\u2019s not even remarkably close to what Jesus has done,\u201d Moore said. \u201cBut it\u2019s just one more step in the path of Jesus\u2019s life, and I think it\u2019s very cool to be a part of something like that.\u201d
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