As an introvert, I can easily say I don't do much out of my comfort zone. I like things to stay the same, and I don't usually go out and try to do more adventurous things than I'm used to. That being said, I am currently experiencing the strangest, most out-of-my-comfort-zone week ever. And I love it.

The reason for my sudden eagerness to step out of my zone and do weird things is that it is GISHWHES week. You probably don't know what that is. If you do, I love you. If you don't, I probably still love you, but I'll explain it for you anyway. GISHWHES, also known as the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen, is exactly what it sounds like: an insane, world-record breaking scavenger hunt. It's run by Misha Collins, an actor on the television series "Supernatural" (the team that wins the hunt gets to go on a free trip to Iceland with Misha himself.)

GISHWHES promotes kindness, fun, craziness, charity, and overall a death to normalcy. The items range from doing something nice for a veteran, to eating green eggs and ham with a goat on a boat (I'm not kidding). Teams of 15 people from over one-hundred different countries come together to complete as many items as they can, and to have fun and be kind while doing it. Though some of the items from the insanely long list are nearly impossible, many of them are doable and help make the world a better place. This is one thing people love about GISHWHES - in a small, weird, way, they have a positive impact on the world just by participating.

GISHWHES started in 2011, and since then it has become something people look forward to each year. It's definitely made me do some very weird things- for example, I've never had to tell my brother "No, I cannot watch a movie with you because I'm busy drawing Trumpuzel right now" before. Yet I look forward to doing more of those strange things. GISHWHES has broken several Guinness World Records including: the most global hugs (108,121); most pledges to commit charitable Acts of Kindness (93,376); and even the Longest Safety Pin Chain (over a mile long!) Aside from breaking world records, GISHWHES participants have also delivered thousands of items to the homeless; raised enough money to completely furnish every room of a home for a wounded veteran and his family, had a mountain on Mars named after gishwhes by NASA; made Christmas trees fly; and have been reported on by news organizations around the world.

GISHWHES is more than just a scavenger hunt. It brings people from all over the world together. The hunt is one of the many reasons Misha Collins is my favorite person in the world (besides my mom, of course.) GISHWHES has the power to create beautiful friendships, life-long bonds, and to push people out of their comfort zones together. This is my second year participating, and I can honestly say it's just getting better. I already can't wait to join again next year.