It’s that time of the year folks! The time where we wake up super early, only to get aggravated by your siblings smacking their food just a little too loudly. The time where we have to avoid the cafeteria at school as much as possible because the one day they serve pizza hut your fasting. The time where the sweetness of biting into a date is unmatched. It’s when the mosque is lit up with friends and family, and don’t forget the little kids running around playing tag during Taraweeh. If you couldn’t put two and two together, it’s the best time of the year: Ramadan!

But let’s be real for a second, sure, we fast from sunrise to sunset, sacrificing food and water (yes, even water) for a mind boggling 13 hours, but Ramadan is so much more than that. Ramadan is all about a spiritual boost, an uplift. How do we get closer to Allah, even when we’re hangry. A popular misconception about Ramadan is the idea of being a good person during the month, but it’s really about how can I be a better person after these thirty days? And I’m not sure about you guys, but I’ve got a lot to improve on. So, here’s what I want you to do: really sit down and write down on a piece of paper (or anything you can look back upon) and write three things you want to improve or reduce about yourself by the end of Ramadan. Here’s are mine!

1. Stop backbiting/gossiping 

2. Cursing less

3. Reading Quran more

It doesn’t have to be all of them, just choose three, you don’t want to overwhelm yourself by trying to do everything at once. Take it easy. One should remember to enjoy Ramadan, as it’s a beautiful month full of rich, potent feelings of spirituality, community, and joy. And if you ever feel like your not doing enough, dua is sometimes all you need. After all the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:

“There are three whose supplication is not rejected: The fasting person when he breaks his fast, the just leader, and the supplication of the oppressed person……”

(Tirmidhi 3598)