What is Lent and How is it Relevant Today?

What is Lent?

I would always ask my mom this question pretty much every year before Easter, because every year I’d forget and have to have her tell me again. She would reply, “It’s when somebody gives up something for God. Usually people will go on a diet, give up chocolate, or something like that.” I always thought it was weird. Why would God care about me eating chocolate? Overall, my mom and I basically agreed that if there’s something you should give up, it should be for good and not for forty days, and that if it wasn’t something bad, why give it up? Again with the chocolate example, I couldn’t see how avoiding something so trivial would bring me closer to God. It seemed like an old tradition, similar to sacrificing animals or avoiding certain foods—something of little relevance today.

This Sunday, I heard a different explanation from the youth pastor at my church. She said that you give something up so that whenever you crave that thing or are having difficulty going through with your goal, you pray about it/focus on God instead. This made A LOT more sense to me. My initial thought in response to her description was that it was sort of like a game, a challenge that brings your focus back to God. The point isn’t always what you’re giving up, but the fact that you’re becoming more aware and thoughtful in the process. And it doesn’t have to be chocolate. Our youth pastor asked us what we could give up for Lent, and there were some pretty abstract answers. People said things like

• ·        Actually getting up when the alarm goes off and doing something productive, starting your day with God, instead of snoozing ten times and waiting until the last five minutes (giving up sleeping in)
• ·        Giving up worrying. This was from my friend who worries over everything. And how beautiful is that, to give up your worries and go to God instead?
• ·        Giving up negative thoughts.

Our youth pastor even told us that her mom usually can’t think of anything to give up, so instead she fasts every Monday during lent. When she’s hungry, she goes into a time of prayer.

The origins of Lent actually aren’t in the Bible, but, according to CatholicEducation.org, “Since the earliest times of the Church, there is evidence of some kind of Lenten preparation for Easter.” Furthermore, ucg.org (United Church of God), even states that there may be pagan origins in the traditions of Ash Wednesday and Lent. Both of these articles (which you can go to by clicking them) provide possible explanations as to where the holiday actually came from.

To be honest, though, that doesn’t matter as much to me as what is done now. For example, giving up something for the purpose of being able to say, “I gave this up for God,” is meaningless. Giving something up or making some sort of goal and then using it as a way to spend more time with God, it seems to me, is what it’s really all about.

I had to post this because I never thought of Lent in a very meaningful way. Now I see it as something that really has nothing to do with the thing you’re giving up. It’s about that reminder you get when you crave what you’re giving up, leading you back to God. Sure, you can choose to give up something that actually does get in between you and God (it’s a great idea, actually), but you don’t have to. As I think about it more, I wonder if anything has to be given up at all. After all, there are no strict rules about it, are there (at least, I’ve never had any)? Lent could be a time of adding something new—which, in a way, is giving up something old. You could “give up” your time after school or work to do yoga, read the Bible, or do something else you don’t normally get around to doing that could help bring your focus back to your spiritual life. Above all, my take on Lent is that it’s not about rules, but about refocusing, loving, and spending a little more time with God as we near a time when He gave up so much for us.

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” –Romans 12:10

What are your ideas on Lent? Any abstract things come to mind that you could give up? Let me know in the comments! Seriously, I find this fascinating to talk about and to hear differing ideas and opinions on (whether you believe or not, I don’t care).

If any of you are participating in Lent, good luck!

So You Want a Lip Piercing?

BEFORE I START, I am not a professional, and pain varies for everyone. I’ve heard people say different things about piercings, and how I reacted and felt may not be the same as how someone else reacts. Also, I got my lower lip pierced on the left side. I'm not sure how the upper lip may vary in healing and such, but I imagine it's at least similar. The advice here is a culmination of my own experience, a little bit of research, and binge-watching piercing-related YouTube videos. It’s what worked for me. Ask your piercer if you have any questions. He or she will know best. Good? Good.

In December, I turned eighteen and finally got it done: the happy stabbing I’d been dreaming of. Since I researched the heck out of lip piercings before I got it done, I decided to add my own anecdote for all the people wondering what does it feel like!?!?!?!?

First and what you’re all probably wondering, no, it didn’t hurt. Yes, really. To be truthful, I couldn’t really feel it going in. I could feel a little bit of something going on in there, but no real pain or pinching feeling.

After the initial piercing, it was slightly sore, like a mild bruise. Lightly touching it wouldn’t really bother it. Yes, I know, don’t touch new piercings. But come on! I had to at least once (and you will too if you get a new addition in your face). It was swollen after getting it done, but as I have a fairly full lower lip, it wasn’t very noticeable. The next day the swelling went down, but would come back if I talked a lot or when I ate. It wasn’t a nuisance and really wasn’t painful. There was a very small bruise around the piercing hole for about a day or two after getting it, but it was covered by the ball on the end of the stud anyway.

Before

As I said, I did a ton of research before I got my lip pierced. I even did a ton of research before getting my ears pierced, which was only a couple of months before my lip. You should do the same. Know the commitment you’ll need for aftercare, think about how often that area of your face might get bumped (I don’t know why it would, but just in case), and know if you’ll have to take it out for work, school, or sports. It doesn’t end there. You should be researching a good place to get pierced if you’ve never gotten a piercing before or if you don’t have a regular shop that you go to and trust. When I got my ears pierced (yes, at a professional piercing and tattoo studio, not Claire’s or Piercing Pagoda because they are not professional piercers and piercing guns are not safe. Look it up if you don’t believe me), I had a good experience, liked the people, and had no trouble with the piercings. Additionally, I’ve had numerous people tell me of the friendly staff there and recommend it for piercings and tattoos, so I felt really comfortable there. Make sure you know the place. If you don’t feel comfortable, don’t go through with it; you can always get it somewhere else.

Also, make sure you want it. A piercing isn’t permanent like a tattoo—assuming it was healthy and healed properly, the remaining scar if you take it out should be minimal and discreet. However, you probably don’t want to get stabbed in your face and pay a lot of money for something you decide a day later doesn’t look good on you. In the months leading up to getting pierced I wore a fake lip ring around the house to make sure I was ok with something always being there and that I liked the look. And I took plenty of selfies. Because, why not? Of course, you don’t have to do that, but it’s not a bad idea if you’re unsure.

During

You will be nervous. Even though I’ve wanted this for years, I almost backed out. My friend had to remind me that I’d be pretty mad at myself if I came all the way out to the shop just to look at the front entrance and turn back. She was right. But, as much as I or anyone else tells you to calm down, you probably won’t unless you’ve already had a piercing before. But try to. It only takes seconds.

After paying and signing myself off to be pierced, I and my friend (for support, you know) were led back to one of the piercing rooms. My piercer wiped off my lip with an alcohol swab (or something of that nature) and marked my lip. After looking in a mirror and being surprised that the placement was perfect on the first try, I told her it looked good. If you don’t like the mark, say something. You’re not being picky or annoying. It’s your body, and a dot is a lot easier to move than a piercing. I laid back in the chair that bore a little resemblance to the shape of a dentist’s chair, but simpler, and, well, not at a dentist’s office. Piercing forceps held my lip in place, a hollow needle passed through, and the labret followed in its wake. There are plenty of videos on YouTube you can watch of people getting pierced, so if any of that sounded strange or confusing, go there. Just don’t watch the ones with titles like “LIP PIERCING GONE WRONG” or something like that. It’s probably click-bait, a sketchy piercer, or a home piercing. 

This was taken in GameStop about a half hour after getting pierced. The swelling is barely noticeable, and if you zoom in, you can kind of see the tiny bruise around the piercing hole. (Don't mind the bags under my eyes.)

Then I proceeded to stay in the chair for about ten or fifteen more minutes because even though I was fine, my body feels the need to almost pass out whenever a needle is going through me. No, I didn’t pass out, and it wasn’t because it hurt. It just happens. I have no idea why. If you’re like that, no worries. Make sure to eat a good meal before you go, and really try to stay calm and breathe and all that happy stuff. There was actually a guy in training who watched me get pierced, and he chilled with me and my friend, talked about music, and even gave me a free soda.

After

After my piercing, I could feel that it was a little swollen. Other than that, not a lot of pain. I ate fine, although I did try to mainly use the other side of my mouth for the first few days. After eating, you will need to use mouthwash. It’s a little annoying to do after every meal, but it’s less annoying than infection. You will also need to clean the outside fairly regularly with a saltwater solution of some sort. I use H2Ocean, a spray solution that is sold at the shop I was pierced at. It’s also at Hot Topic, Spencer’s, and can be purchased online. Personally, I love how easy and convenient it is to use and never had a reason to use anything else. Your piercer will tell you how often your lip should be cleaned, and you can find better articles than this for a more detailed overview of aftercare in case you forget. I remember I used the spray about 4 or 5 times a day in the first two weeks, then slowly went down to 2 or 3 times, and so on. Your lip should feel fairly normal after three weeks or so, but you should wait at least a month or two before switching out the jewelry. While it is good to wait a long time before switching it out, make sure you don’t keep it in for a terribly long time (you know, like 6 months or something) because the initial jewelry will be bigger to accommodate for swelling. Once your lip is healed and isn’t swelling anymore, the jewelry will be annoying and is more likely to cause damage to your mouth via biting on it and chipping a tooth or having it rub against your gums and cause recession.

Here you can see how far the bar poked out from my lip.

Gum Recession!?

Yes, it can happen. However, with variables like placement, materials, and what type of jewelry is worn, recession can be avoided. First way to avoid it: wear jewelry that fits! If your labret bar is super long, it’s more likely to rub against your gums. The placement of your piercing will also play a role. For example, my power lip is full, my top teeth are big, and somehow when my mouth is closed, my bottom lip actually reaches up to the top of my upper teeth. I don’t know if that’s common, but in my case, it means that a piercing just under my lip line isn’t going to rest against my gums at all, but my teeth. That’s probably not great for me, either, but it’s better than gums. Secondly, after switching from a labret post to a ring, the piercing doesn’t touch my teeth at all. It fits flush around my lip, and simply doesn’t reach back there. The materials you wear can also help to prevent recession. After letting your lip heal with the long bar, which should be implant-grade surgical steel from your piercer, consider trying out labrets with plastic backings. Be cautious, however, to make sure that your piercing is fully healed and that the material you’re switching to is safe. Do your research. I’ll say it again. Do. Your. Research. It’s your body. Don’t mess it up or compromise.

Other FAQs

Food does not get stuck in it. Drinks do not leak out of it (including soup, which I rarely eat, anyway).

It doesn’t affect the way I talk or sing.

I only accidentally bit the longer bar 2 or 3 times. It really hurt.

I got it snagged while changing my shirt maybe twice. Again, not a fun situation.

Once again, I'll remind you guys that your experience may differ from mine, and to consult a professional piercer if you have any major questions. Speaking of which, Are there any last questions you have for me? Do any of you have your lip pierced, and was it similar to my story or different? Feel free to let me know in the comments! 

“If you’re always trying to be normal, you’ll never know how amazing you can be.” –Maya Angelou