My first puasa experience

“Did you seriously not drink water? Did you actually wake up for sahur? How was it like to fast?” Some of you saw my Insta stories on the day I berpuasa and asked me how I felt about the entire experience. I didn’t get to reply to each of you one by one, but to those who I have, you’d probably read some of these again for the second time.

I’d say it was a great experience understanding the culture of another religion and fasting together with my friends definitely brought out the unity in diversity. I was afraid that I couldn’t wake up for sahur and even told my best friend to wake me up, but I think I ended up waking him up instead, haha!

Was I starving? Was I dying of thirst? I would say that I felt hungry when I thought of food. Sometimes I’d be tempted to buy waffles on campus as it’s really close to where I usually study, but I did my best to not be tempted. Thirst was definitely there, of course. But I survived. I guess it’s a real battle with your mind sometimes, to not be tempted. Once you conquer your mind, you conquer yourself.

Other than that, it also made me realise how blessed I am to have proper meals every day and clean water sources. Imagine the homeless not having that? Through fasting, I got to experience how it felt like, but not entirely how it actually is like since I’m allowed to have my sahur and iftar with proper food and water while they don’t.

But this thought shouldn’t just last for Ramadhan. It should be in our everyday lives. We may not be fasting or experiencing how the homeless are, but always be thankful for every meal. Don’t over order, don’t overeat, and don’t waste food. Stop wastage and we will have more to share with those in need.

Though I only berpuasa for one day, it was a great experience and there definitely are lessons that I can take back from this experience.

Some of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that I can relate to through this experience would be:-

#SDG1 – No poverty. It made me think of the poor. It made me reflect on the times I bought an ice-cream just to satisfy my cravings when others don’t even have a proper meal in front of them.

#SDG2 – Zero Hunger. There are so many people who are starving out there. Fasting made me experience what it feels like to be hungry, and not just buying food whenever I wanted to.

#SDG6 – Clean Water and Sanitation. I’m truly blessed that I have access to clean water in my daily life.

#SDG12 – Responsible Consumption and Production. This experience thought me not to overeat. Even for iftar, I didn’t eat more than a one person’s portion. After fasting for the entire day and experiencing how it felt like, you’d somehow feel that you’re already blessed with enough.

No, this is not an AIESEC post. This is my story. This can be our story.

For those who have yet to see my puasa video, you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/AIESECTU.my/videos/2002933159955913/