This past week I participated in G.I.S.H.W.H.E.S. (Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen) It was created by Misha Collins most known for his role as Castiel in Supernatural, aka one of my favorite shows to watch ever. The hunt is a week-long race of creating ridiculous images and videos to win points for a paid trip to an exotic location with Misha. Misha and collected advisers create a challenge list of a hundred or so items that make you question your sanity and how outgoing you are to complete some of these items. There is no shame in GISHWHES, none at all. Seriously there’s none, you pick up on that fast when reading the challenge list.

As a mostly shy, nervous woman who doesn’t like going out her comfort zone, I was surprised with how much I actually liked doing this hunt. It gave me a reason to do things I would never do on a daily basis. For example, I had to make a collage out of everything that makes up me, with myself being the pasteboard. Another was throwing an all holidays party, celebrating all holidays you could think of in one setting. That was actually a tricky one trying to find something to represent some holidays but thankfully I have quite the holiday stuffed animal collection that helped out a lot. I even made a video for Sinscreen, a spray that protects you from sin which was fun to make with my friend who was visiting from basic training. I even re-purposed an artichoke into pageant wear in which I was crowned Miss Artichoke 2016 and had fun representing the state where I'm from.

I had awesome teammates though who really put in work, going out to do some outrageous things such as diving under water in formal clothes, having one person take a pic of a painter and model. Another was cheer-leading for vegetables and having yourself shipped at a post office. I think my favorite was eating green eggs and ham on a boat with a goat. It was nice meeting new people from different states such as Ohio, Nevada, and Guam. That’s one cool aspect of GISHWHES, you meet new people around the world and work together to have fun and try to win. One minute you’re on a regular schedule of doing normal shit and then as soon as GISHWHES starts, you’re asking advice for tombstone writings.

GISHWHES also makes you go out and help others, such as visiting veterans, bringing food for the homeless, and playing music for those with dementia. GISHWHES is a competition, but it’s also about spreading joy and love to one another. It tests your limits and humbles you at the same time. I think I’ll definitely try this again next year if I have a whole week free, because GISHWHES is no joke. They make you work those little grey cells out, testing to see how creative you can get with sticking to the task.

I’m happy I was able to be a part of this whacky yet fun challenging hunt. It’s definitely a story to be told.