Recently the Easter season creeped up once again. Lent is a significant part of Easter to Christians so I decided to interview different people to ask what they had given up and why.

The first person was my mum who is an adult.

Me: So what did you give up for lent this year?                                                                                                   Mum: I’ve given up alcohol as it is something I like to have on weekends with friends and it is something I like doing so I decided to give it up.

Alcohol is something many adults give up for lent as it is something that brings them pleasure and they want to show Jesus that they are giving something up for Him that they use often and like to use.

The next person I interviewed was my friend who is 14.

Me: What have you given up for lent?                                                                                                                     Friend: I have decided to go vegetarian for 40 days as I think it is quite a challenge as meat is part of my everyday life and something I love to eat like chicken etc.

Cutting off meat is also a popular choice for lent however I noticed my friend found it hard as usually she would be able to have Mcdonald’s, Nandos or even a ham sandwhich for lunch which she had to lose for the period of lent.

To get a range of points of view I decided to ask my younger brother who is 8 what he had given up.

Me: Hey what have you given up for lent?                                                                                                                          My brother: I won’t watch TV that’s what I’m gonna give up.

Many young children tend to give up things like toys, TV, video games or also sweets. What I realised here is that my brother didn’t even last a week in 2 days he was back to watching TV but I wasn’t expecting anything better.

Finally, myself. I’ve never really given up anything for lent, I always observe other people and how they keep to their lental promise but I guess each year I try to think about my actions more and be a kinder person.

Aleksandra Mendykowska Gumley House Convent School