As a lifelong Catholic, I consider myself to be somewhat of an expert on giving things up for Lent. If you can think of it, I've probably given it up for Lent -- everything from sweets to when I was in middle school and thought it was funny to tell my teachers I couldn't do my assignments because I gave up doing homework for Lent.

1. Optimism.

It's Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, and if you're like me, you probably feel kind of terrible from hitting Fat Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras, too hard the night before. Easter is only like a month away -- that's nothing! After much deliberation, you decide what you're giving up for Lent and get excited to become basically an entirely new person over the next 40 days.

2. The accidental slip.

You're out with your friends, halfway through sharing a bowl of amazing crab fries and all of a sudden you realize - you gave up french fries for Lent. You immediately feel guilty, but you didn't do it on purpose, and the fries are already half gone so, at this point, it's basically just a waste not to finish them, right? You'll just be extra good tomorrow.

3. Desperation.

You're starting to think Lent isn't all that bad when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the cravings hit. Suddenly all you can think about is chocolate, or ice cream, or mozzarella sticks. It's literally all you want to eat. Maybe you're out with friends and they're all getting dessert, or for some reason you just can't seem to unlock your phone without feeling a need to call Domino's. Either way, you're starting to question your sanity and why you thought you could somehow do this. No one takes Lent seriously, anyways, right?

4. Hopefulness.

You're starting to get towards the end of Lent, and one day you realize you haven't really thought about what you gave up for a while. In fact, even when you start to think about it, you don't really care all that whether or not you have it. After all, you've made it this far, so why give up on all that hard work now?

5. Celebration.

Congrats!! You made it! Even if you accidentally slipped up once or twice, you've officially made it through Lent. You may not quite be the completely different person that you imagined 40 days ago, but you still managed to set your goal and reach it, with maybe just one or two slip ups. Time to go celebrate with Easter candy and whatever it was you gave up in the first place!