Have you and your friends been bored with your lives lately? Do you ever try to come up with fun plans for the night only to end up hanging out at the same place and talking to the same people? Or maybe you don’t feel like going to that bar you visit every weekend but you still want to get all your friends together and do something exciting.
My friends might be different from yours, but I’m sure all groups of friends run into the problem of boredom. Bored of doing the same things, at the same places, with the same people.
The other night I was at my apartment with a group of friends at school. We were drinking a little, eating pizza and talking over the T.V. while it played an episode of some show we didn’t really care about. Our conversations were random and not at all linked with each other, and sometimes there were even separate side conversations going on within the group. After a while we all became engaged in an interesting conversation about the game truth or dare. Some of us commented on how stupid the game is, and others of us argued that it can be fun to play. After a brief debate on the game, we decided that it would be much better if it was just a game of dare, because the truth part is where the game gets stupid or awkward.
After we reached this conclusion, we started talking about crazy dares that we would come up with if we decided to play the game of just “dare.” But after a while of joking around, our ideas started to sound challenging. One of my friends suggested that we try the dares and bet money on each other. Even though this whole idea was talked about as a joke at first, we noticed ourselves becoming more serious about the dares and we started to make up rules.
I don’t know if it was the alcohol in us, or if we are just brilliant and interesting people, but we came up with this game to play for the next couple months until summer creeps its way in.
The game we thought of is actually something that could be fun for people to try, especially for a group of friends. On top of that, each dare has an added benefit. If you are courageous enough maybe you and your group of friends will try this crazy game of dares. We named the game Month Madness.
This is how it works; each person in your group comes up with a dare for someone to do for a whole month. After each person comes up with one dare, they write it down on a piece of paper and put it in a hat. The group of friends takes turns picking a dare out of the hat.
The rules are simple; you pick the dare, you do the dare. You have to do the dare for a whole month and if you fail, then you have to pay up! You would have to give each person playing the game the amount of money you all agree on beforehand. My group of friends only decided to pay each person 20 dollars…but there are seven of us in the group!
The dares can be anything you want, but here are some specific ones that my friends and I came up with:
The Madness of No Drugs or Alcohol:
Rules: Simple, you can’t use any kind of drug or drink any type of liquor for thirty days. That also means if you’re sick, you can’t take medicine. So, drink a lot of orange juice and hope you don’t get sick this month…
The Benefit: No drugs or alcohol! I know it doesn’t sound like much of a benefit to some of you, but cutting out drug use or alcohol consumption is actually healthier! Plus, you save money.
The Madness of No Sex:
The Rules: Absolutely no sexual intercourse for thirty days. None. But there is good news with this rule…sex with yourself doesn’t count.
The Benefit: If you’re not having sex for a long period of time, then you don’t have to worry…about a couple of things. I don’t think I have to tell you what these things are, I’m sure you all know. Just like the health teacher says in Mean Girls, “If you have sex…you will get pregnant, and you will die.”
The Madness of Every Day Library Visits:
The Rules: You have to go to your nearest library every day for thirty days. No days can be skipped so you have to adjust your schedule accordingly. You have to stay at the library for at least 2 hours with every visitation.
The Benefit: While you are forced to visit the library for at least 2 hours a day, you have no other choice but to be productive! This can give you time to get homework done and/or find new books to read. Maybe after the month is over with, you’ll find that you get more done at the library and you’ll start to study there more, who knows!
The Madness of Nonstop Working Out:
The Rules: You must work out in some way, shape or form every day for thirty days. This can include going to a gym, running a couple laps, dancing to a Zumba class, or playing a sport. The workout has to be at least an hour long.
The Benefit: Do I need to explain the benefit of working out? You’re taking care of your body! To be honest, we all should be working out regularly. Working out keeps you in shape, keeps you healthy, builds your determination, and boosts your self-confidence. Although you probably won’t see too big of a difference after working out for a month, you still might see slight changes or feel better about yourself and become encouraged to keep going.
The Madness of Not Styling Your Hair:
The Rules: Girls are forbidden to straighten, flat iron, curl, wave, or crimp their hair for thirty days. They aren’t allowed to use product in it either, so that means no gel, moose or hairspray. Girls who put in extensions or wear a weave are not excluded! You must wear your hair natural and you cannot clip in fake hair. Guys are forbidden to use any product in their hair as well, and they are not allowed to cut it. There is only one exception to this rule, and that is if you are a girl and it is your birthday! (Or you met the perfect guy and have a hot date.)
The Benefit: Not being able to do these things can be healthier for someone’s hair, guy or girl.
The Madness of No Social Networks:
The Rules: You won’t be allowed to get on any social network for thirty days. This includes Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Instagram, Tumbler, Pinterest, or any other ones that your group of friends uses often. No cheating! Simply checking your timeline or newsfeed counts!
The Benefit: Steering away from social networks can keep you clear of any of the drama that goes on that month. Also, if you get rid of social networks, you might be able to pay attention more in class or focus better on your homework without resorting to checking your timeline whenever you get bored. Forgetting about social networks can also allow you to focus on yourself more because you won’t be so distracted and concerned about the peoples’ lives around you. There was once a time when people survived without Facebook or Instagram, hard to believe I know!
The Madness of No T.V.:
The Rules: Pretty self-explanatory, you cannot watch T.V. for thirty days. You can, however, watch movies.
The Benefit: You might think you’re the type of person that doesn’t watch T.V. that much, but when you can’t watch it for a month, you would be surprised at how much you want to watch it. If you watch T.V. often, then not watching it for a month can give you some extra time to find other hobbies to pass your time. Not watching T.V. might even allow you to focus on things that should be a bigger priority such as doing your homework or cleaning your room.
All of these dares seem pretty crazy, but as you can see they all have their benefits too. Plus, they will keep you occupied and entertained. The fact that you would be trying to get through them along with your friends makes it fun and bearable. You would be surprised at the comfort you feel knowing that your friends are being tortured just like you are! You also have that added motivation of not having to cough up money to each of your friends. The more friends you play with, the more motivation! Besides, these dares only have to be done for a month. Thirty days is really not that long if you think about it. Or, is it?