Taking a Break from Twitch
In an effort to deepen my faith and re-calibrate my personal priorities, I have decided to give up Twitch – as both a viewer and a streamer – for Lent this year, in celebration of and preparation for Easter. I will stream on Tuesday, March 4th and then will be offline from March 5 thru April 20.
Many of you know I am a Christian – a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While members of my church celebrate Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter and focus on these holy seasons in our church and personal worship, we do not officially celebrate Advent or observe Lent as a church in association with these holidays.
Church leaders have encouraged us to make the Easter season special and cultivate Christ-centered Easter traditions. So, in solidarity and unity with many of my fellow Christians around the world, I have decided to observe Lent for the first time in my life.
In my study of Lent, I have learned that most Lenten traditions revolve around three core principles – fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. The idea behind all of these is that you do them with the intention of drawing closer to Jesus Christ.
For those of the Catholic faith, fasting during Lent does include abstaining from meals or certain foods like meat on certain days, but it goes beyond that to include self-discipline and fasting in other ways – giving up some luxuries, vices, things that you enjoy, etc. as a way to help you deepen your faith and focus on what really matters.
For a couple weeks I've been trying to figure out what I might give up for Lent. I initially decided to give up “video entertainment” which includes video games, TV, movies, and watching Twitch. But I wanted to continue at least streaming on Twitch.
But if I am honest with myself, I feel I need to make a meaningful sacrifice – something that I will miss very much and that will be quite difficult to abstain from. I need to be willing to give up my most favorite thing to do – and for the past 18 months, my favorite thing to do is stream on Twitch.
I have agonized over this because things have been going really well the past couple months – average viewership is up, and new people are discovering my channel all the time. If I stop streaming for seven weeks, will I lose that momentum? Will I disappoint long-time subscribers and drive them away?
And yet, I can't shake the feeling that this is something I need to do. I need to take a step back, re-calibrate, and re-prioritize. I need to reconnect with God, reexamine my values, and carefully consider how everything I've been doing aligns with those values.
Besides, streamers take long breaks all the time, right? This will be my first long break since I started streaming. It's probably overdue.
To my viewers: I thank you so much for your patience and understanding. I know many of you have come to consider my stream a temporary escape from a tumultuous world, and I'm sorry I won't be there for you. I hope you can find healthy and positive ways to decompress in the meantime. I'll still be around on Discord and social media if you want to connect. And if you're observing Lent, too, feel free to reach out! I'd love for us to encourage one another!
My plan is to return to streaming on April 22, the Tuesday after Easter – hopefully re-centered, revitalized, and with a renewed passion for sharing amazing music with amazing people.