Friday Faves: 9 Things College Girls Should Give up for Lent

By Candy

Mardi Gras is over and Lent is here! So for all you Catholics out there, it’s time to pick what you’re giving up for the next 40 days. I’m not very religious, but I love where this girl is taking the challenge.

For all you Catholicism-challenged readers out there, Lent is the period following the bead-bonanza of Mardi Gras which encourages celebrating all the good things in life, before giving up your biggest bad habit for 4o days. It starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter, just in time for animal-shaped candy and chocolate binges to end the ordeal. In the meantime, I’ve come up with not one, but nine things that any college girl, including myself, could live without until then.

9. Ex-freak outs. So you guys dated/hooked up/hung out for x number of months and have so much in common. If it’s over, it’s over. He’s not going to knock down your door in the rain with a bouquet of roses telling you he messed up. In the same way, he’s not going to pick up the phone and apologize for, whatever, when he wakes up to find that you forked his lawn and tp’d his house. Let it go, move on. Stop giving the “psycho ex girlfriend” stereotype anymore material to work with.

8. Hating people in relationships. This applies to every day besides February 14th. Let’s grow up and be happy for our committed friends, yet silently acknowledge that they are stuck at home every Friday night while you are out chatting up any dude you want, without worrying about having to check-in every half-hour or buy the perfect birthday present. Every relationship is different, so let’s focus on the most important one in your life and let the other stuff go.

7. Hating your body. Let’s chill out with all the phrases like, “I hate my butt” or “I have flabby arms.” Dudes don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but when you keep telling yourself how gross you look, soon enough you’ll believe it. Leave the competition for the grossest physical attribute to the ladies of “Mean Girls” and their “super sucky nail beds.” Now, morning breath is a totally different story… (Need help with this one? Check out Operation Beautiful!)

6. Facebook stalking people you don’t know. Or have a major crush on. If you’ve been there you know how awkward it is when that guy with the great plaid shirts mentions his upcoming plans with study abroad friends and you let it slip that you’re so jealous that they’re going to Canada for the weekend… even though he never actually mentioned Canada to you. Let’s keep the stalking to actual friends, and try to tone it down. The real world exists beyond a computer screen!

5. Late night snacking. By now you know better than ordering a cranberry pineapple vodka, since the amount of sugar will leave you with a giant hangover and even bigger weight gain. But those calories we try to forget about, often consumed on our way home from the bar, are pretty evil too. Let’s vow to stop drunk-eating, and feel much better about (some of) our decisions from last night. (Get inspiration from a CollegeCandy writer who did it!)

4.  Smack-talk. I haven’t mastered the whole “think before you speak” thing that my mother always tried to teach me, but I think for 40 days it might be nice if we all stopped judging each others’  outfits and lunch-time orders, and focused on the important things in life.

3. Late night texting. Ever notice how your feelings TOTALLY make sense when you’ve gotten home from that party and you just need to tell that boy in your chemistry class how perfect you two might be together? No. After four years of getting myself into tricky situations I’m turning off my phone once I get in bed.

2. All-nighters. Let’s stop procrastinating and turn off that episode of “Kourtney & Kim take NYC.” You’ve already seen it twice, anyway, so get working! Nothing make sense at 3:15 am (see #3) and your teacher will totally know if you banged out an awful essay in 4 hours. Plus, cranky girls never get asked on dates.

1. Blacking out. Ladies, we all know our limit when it comes to drinking. Let’s pregame more responsibly (or not at all) and try to enjoy a night tipsy instead of sloppy. I’m so over hearing about things I did when I was out of control, but even worse, hate missing out on crazy fun events, like Senior Cotillion, because I was way too generous with the Svedka.

What will you be giving up for Lent this year?