Last year for Lent, I gave up all forms of social media. For those of you who are not familiar with Lent, it is a time where "we participate in abstinence, times of fasting, confession, and acts of mercy to strengthen our faith and devotional disciplines. The goal of every Christian is to leave Lent a stronger and more vital person of faith than when we entered."

Now, going into this I was expecting it to be difficult because as a college student and a girl growing up in this generation in general, we are always on our phones and social media. What I did not realize was the amount of joy that I would find with giving it up.

In our world that is defined by the numbers on social media platforms such as Instagram and twitter, we are always bombarded with thoughts of "are we good enough." Having the power to push the delete button of those apps from my phone, was putting the power back into my hands, not into the hands of society.

An immediate sense of relief came over me, which was unexpected. I thought I was going to have no idea of what to do to fill my time. I would usually spend hours mindlessly scrolling through other people's lives and comparing the two. When I deleted social media, it showed me a world that I have blocked out for a long time.

I was more present with my friends, family, and in the classroom. I was not constantly checking my phone to see who Snapchatted me, I wasn't picking the "perfect" filter for an Instagram picture, I was simply living in the moment and not having any worry about the internet world.

It taught me self-control. It showed me that I do not need to scroll through social media ten times a day. It taught me to not compare my life to someone else's on the internet. It taught me how to use my time wisely throughout the day.

The most important thing giving up social media showed me is my confidence. I was more confident in everything I was doing because I no longer had that voice on my shoulder comparing myself to others or wallowing in self-pity wondering why I couldn't get as many likes as the next girl.

It taught me that sometimes we just need to take a step back and be present in the moment and not get caught up in the fake world that social media portrays. I learned that the world is much more beautiful when you look up from the screen.