Natalie Stanchfield

Today is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent. I’m not Catholic, but I started observing Lent in high school as a test of willpower. The first year I gave up donuts. After Lent was over, I didn’t eat donuts as much anymore, so I came to the conclusion that Lent was a good opportunity to rid myself of habits that might not be good for my health. In years since then I have given up coffee, cigarettes, and meat. This year I thought about giving up alcohol, but I’d tried that before one year and I just became cranky and was no fun to be around. So I decided not to put my roommate Ayme through that this year.

Instead, I’ve decided to give up complaining. As of late it has been brought to my attention that I complain…a lot. When your Japanese class dubs you the Monkey Queen (from 文句言う—monkuiu—to complain) because you grumble so much, you might want to do something about it. Hey I’m not complaining here.
I feel that complaining has become a crutch. So I’m giving up the sarcasm from my shtick. We’ll see if I still have anything to talk about…

So if you catch me complaining, gently remind me. If I do slip, I’ve resolved to immediately say something positive about whatever I was bitching about in the first place.

Also I want to make clear that “Gee it’s raining pretty hard, huh?” is NOT complaining per se. If I said, “Gee it’s raining pretty hard. Just typical on the day when I have to run all my errands…” THAT’S complaining.

So look forward to a sunnier, perkier, probably quieter Natalie. But just wait, Lent ends right as portfolio week begins!