SCABs

No Man – By Fraser @joeyfraser95

By Joe Fraser

 

No Man

 

            I don’t really research fitness online. If I do I’m looking to renew a gym membership. So, I don’t know why this man keeps popping up on YouTube ads trying to get me to stop eating for a day. He calls it intermittent fasting. Supposedly it’s good for your body – a detox so to speak. But I don’t particularly want to do that. So, I didn’t.

 

            But I don’t normally get what I want. During a recent religious festival (Yom Kippur) I had to go 25 hours without food or water. Again, it’s supposed to help you in a way. Instead of your body though, you’re supposed to feel like an angel – detached from your physical self that is dependent on food and water.

           

            The only problem is I can’t go 5 hours without craving some food so the feeling wasn’t mutual. Instead of bouncing on a cloud I was like Spongebob when he goes into Sandy’s house for the first time. “Waaaaterrrrr.” (A niche reference but a good one if you get it).

 

            I powered through and finally got to the end of the fast, gorging on any bit of food I could find. With this SCAB, I thought I’d be able to share my thoughts and development through this but I felt the same as I do every year I do the fast – kind of annoyed. Annoyed I had to go through with it, annoyed that I sat uncomfortable and sickly for a whole day, and annoyed that I didn’t get any spiritual or physical benefit from it all (I don’t care what the YouTube man says!) I also missed a day at SCA, which, being here for only a week, I already know is a bold choice with all the work I miss.

 

            So why do I do it?

 

            I guess fasting gives you a sense of self-control. So much in our lives we’re governed by ours phones or by trends or by what our parents/friends tell us to do that it’s hard to truly grab control of something for yourself. Fasting (and I personally don’t eat dairy products, pork or shellfish) gives me a sense of control of what I put into my body and strangely gives me a sense of discipline in myself that I find scarce in most parts in my life. I control my food as the religious obligation it is meant to be, rather a time to challenge myself directly in a physical and mental way.

 

            The ability to say no is a liberating one.

 

            I don’t recommend this to everyone, though feel free to try. But I do believe that having things in your life that you reject gives you the power to be more controlled in other parts of your day-to-day activities. I find that I can push myself to get out of bed more, push myself to be more social and push myself to be more creative. Which is what I’m here to do.

Related SCABs

Go back

Student Application

  • Fill out the Application Form below to be a part of our next Award-Winning intake.

  • MM slash DD slash YYYY
image