This…
pokes the OP in the eyes a la the Three Stooges
…then prepares for retaliation
Suffer through a long bout of depression.
Performance in front of an audience - really freaked me out the first time I did it, but being in Drama Club, the fear melted away fairly easily.
Be poor with friends who are not. Really stressful when they suggest we go somewhere, and I don’t have a single dime on me.
Be the minority. On a similar note, be unpopular in school and picked on because of it. Sort of links to the first one.
I think everyone should live alone for a while, without parents or lovers. Just to learn what you’re like without other people influencing you.
Work for even one day as a motel maid.
Get at least one standing ovation - one you really, really deserve.
All women should expierence sex with me at least once.
Jail.
I was in an experiment opening a new high-tech jail, the county wanted to show off to the community, and to test their systems. I went in with a friend for a weekend stay. At first, it was lots of fun, like being in a weird theme park. I sang songs in solitary, watched the guys playing cards…and then…I realized I wanted out. I REALLY wanted out. It’s not claustrophobia or fear of being trapped, or anger, it’s being CAGED. There aren’t any feelings like that.
If teenagers had to spend a weekend in jail before they could get a license or vote, crime would drop 50%.
As a former employee of McDonald’s, I’d like to really second the “work in service industry” thing.
As for “working in the service industry”, working in retail for one full year gets my vote. That would include Christmas, back-to-school and inventory. Preferably at a mall store, or a large Wal-Mart or Target type of store.
Also, serving in the military seems like a good idea.
Going away to college and living in a dorm is a good idea that I think everyone should experience. Far away enough that you can’t go home every weekend.
Living with roommates you might not like all that much, either in college or after, and learn how to get along with them.
Living on your own, all by yourself for a while.
Work with or for someone who is a bigot/petty tyrant/total asshole/whatever and learn to deal with it.
Learn to drive a stick-shift.
Learn how to cook more than Kraft Mac & Cheese.
Learn how to be a gracious host.
Have a long-distance relationship.
I’m with Horseflesh on the “Win a 10k jackpot” thing.
It’s not an obscene amount of money, but just about anyone can use an extra 10k. Everyone should, at least once, have ONE MONTH out of their lives where money is not a concern.
Go to a normal, public high school for at least a semester. The kids who went to private schools or special magnet schools are missing a lot.
Hehe. Yeah, BKB. They’re missing out on shootings, rifraff disturbing the class, etc.
Well, yeah, WV_Woman, they are missing out on an incredibly eye-opening and often sobering experience. Going to an inner city public school taught me a lot that I never would have learned at a private school–and, no, I don’t mean how to deal drugs or anything.
I think everyone should have to interact with a dying loved one. Not that I would wish death on anybody’s loved ones, but it’s so much more meaningful (for all parteis) to be taken care of by your family than left to die alone in a hospital.
On the other end of the spectrum, everyone should have to baby-sit or otherwise take care of young children at least once. It’s not only fun, it gives you so much appreciation for what good parents do every day.
Everyone should go to a foreign country, alone, and learn the language and culture. A minumum of 1 year.
Visit a nursing home and talk to the residents.
At least once, take the most money you can afford (even if it is only $20) and give it to a complete stranger who isn’t panhandling, but looks like they could use it for food or shelter.
No discussion. Just give it and walk away.
Actually, WV_Woman and burundi, I just want them to go to an average school in the suburbs, no major problems but without any of the special programs that private and public magnet schools offer. It’s good to be around people of all intelligence levels and races (my school was about 10% black 5% hispanic and 5% Asian, I got a pretty good deal). It’s just that people should see what most experience during 4 of their most impressionable years, and they’d also learn the problems average schools face. However, going to an inner-city school to see the problems there wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
Ride a bicycle across the U.S. (or whatever country your from). i plan to take a 2-3 month trip around the U.S. when I retire. There’s just so much to see and you’ll never notice it all in the confines of a car.
Someone already wrote “be a minority for a day,” but I’d suggest two related options:
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Spend one day as someone whose life/lifestyle/political opnion is the exact opposite of your own. ie/ If you’re a neo-Nazi, you have one day as a Jew, if you’re a Jew, you have one day as a neo-Nazi. For good or bad, you should LEARN from this.
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And a more realistic one: Spend one day with some kind of disability.
I got stranded in a huge city, that wasn’t familiar to me, with no voice. And I mean, I could even squeak or whisper. I got sick on the way into the city on the train. I was supposed to call my friend when I got there to get directions. It was an incredible experience to suddenly have to deal with the inability to communicate verbally. Not only because it requires you to cope with the disability, but also because it was fascinating to see how people respond.
I quickly bought a paper and pen to write notes as a mode of communication, but I found that even though I had written “I cannot speak” people would either whisper or yell when they spoke to me, as if I couldn’t hear. Some people thought I was panhandling when I tried to get assitance. It really was an unforgettable experience to see how people dealt with me.
Two I was thinking of saying.
I guess mine would be
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Acid or shroom trip
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Have someone die in your arms
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Be a parent
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another vote for working in the service industry
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perform in front of an audience
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light a fart on fire (people need to lighten up)
NurseCarmen on acid, lighting beer farts in the ER…now THAT would be an experience!
Actually, I’d say everyone should have to NOT go do something that everyone else insists you do.
Over all protestations from my friends, I refused to attend my high school prom and graduation. I saw both activities as staged nonsense, and felt my time and money could be spent in better ways.
I worked that day, made money instead of spending it on a prom limo or grad gown, and have never regretted it. My friends are still my friends, and it was a key experience for me in asserting myself.
I think that everyone should be mocked for a prolonged period. By prolonged, I mean long enough to realize that the contempt of fools is the closest that you can get to a compliment from them.
I went to prom. Am ambivilant about it.
BTW, my stint in the workforce as cheap labor has convinced me never to tip, as I may need the money someday.
I’ve been discovered!! Were you there, or did you just hear about it?