By Jaci Schneider, Opinion Editor
Much Ado About Something
Eventually we had to confess. The guilt got to us-and we wanted to use their scale, which we’d hidden under their towels.
Sure, I had fun listening to them discussing the mystery through the wall at night, but we finally decided to tell them that we turned their picture frames upside down, hid their remote control on the window sill and rearranged their desk drawers.
The prank was silly, but my cohort and I had fun. My neighbors and I had even more fun planning the next prank-switching the bedding on our friends’ beds, so when they came in late at night, they didn’t know where they were supposed to sleep.
Some people say pranks are a silly waste of time, but I disagree.
Pranks help friends bond; they give you something to conspire about and something to laugh about later. Some of my best memories from my college years so far involve pranks.
Of course we weren’t laughing when my friend slammed her finger in a door freshman year in the excitement following a prank, and we spent several hours in the emergency room while she waited to get stitches. But now, we look back on that missed curfew with amusement, recalling the way Walgreen’s looks at 1 a.m. and the way my friend looked with a bandage on her finger and, of course, the reactions of the victims of the prank.
This time last year, I was living in a house in Oxford with 17 people. We always had trouble keeping track of dishes in the three kitchens, but the girls began noticing a shortage of silverware. At first, the shortage wasn’t very evident; we just assumed someone had stopped doing dishes. One day, however, when we had only two forks remaining, someone went searching and discovered a cabinet full of silverware, cups and dishes in the boys’ kitchen.
They had pulled a creative prank; we had to give them points for that, but that didn’t keep us from stealing their mattresses that week. Luckily, we went home shortly and didn’t suffer any major consequences.
Sometimes pranks can get out of hand. Some people just don’t know when to stop, and they can cause trouble for everyone. Pranks and practical jokes show camaraderie between friends; if someone pulls a prank on you, you know they think of you as a close friend. But some people take pranks too seriously; they aren’t anything to throw a tizzy fit about, unless, of course, the pranksters go to far. But laugh about it first; make sure you have reason to be mad before getting angry.
If you have some good friends and are feeling a little bored, start brainstorming. Think up something new to laugh about with your friends for years to come.
