How I Spent My New Year's Eve

Once upon a time, last night I went to a party! I don't usually go to New Year's Eve parties, being that I'm not a drinker or a partier in any way, but last night a bunch of people got together specifically because none of us wanted to drink, so it was okay. We were hanging out, playing games and just talking and having a good time. My friend Jamie was telling everyone that it was now 1990 instead of 2011, just 'cause he's weird like that and the 90s were awesome. ^_^ So we were playing Spin the Bottle and Truth or Dare, your basic 90s movie party games, and one of my friends dared me to eat a spoonful of cinnamon.

Apparently this is a thing, the Cinnamon Challenge. I didn't know it was a trend. But I agreed to do it, thinking it would be a small spoonful - but no, it was a heaping tablespoon of cinnamon. And though I was aware it would be hot, and thought I could handle that, I didn't take into account the fact that it's a super-fine powder. =/ You guys probably see where I'm going with this.

So I put the spoonful into my mouth, holding my breath for some reason. I realize I can't swallow it all at once, and I exhale, preparing to swallow it bit by bit. I just exhaled. I didn't choke, cough, anything like that - I just breathed out.

Aaaand a cloud of cinnamon goes *poof*ing out of my nose, which makes everyone else laugh, but BURNS. And I try to breathe back in, which causes a bunch of cinnamon to be inhaled into my lungs and the back of my throat, which makes me choke. Choking with a mouthful of cinnamon, by the way, is a terrible, horrible plan. Don't do it if you can avoid it. =/

So now people have noticed that I'm legit choking, and I'm freaking the eff out. I can't swallow, I can barely breathe, my nose and throat are burning, my eyes are streaming. I'm trying to wash the cinnamon out of my mouth because I can't actually swallow any water. Eventually, I do get enough out so I can swallow a little water, and I'm breathing, though I can barely talk. By the time it was over, everyone was laughing again because we were all so relieved that I didn't die. And apparently if you almost die in a game of Truth or Dare, you win and that gets you exempt from the rest of the game. So yay for me!

But seriously, it nearly killed me. There was a moment or two when I was actually honest-to-God afraid that I was going to die, right there at my sort-of friend's house with a bunch of people I didn't know and a couple of boys I thought were cute. What a way to ring in the new year, huh?

I blew my nose about thirty thousand times, and it was really gross for the first ten or so. It got steadily less gross all night, and by the time I woke up today, almost all of the cinnamon was out of my nose. :D But last night was freaking TORTURE. I had to drive my friends home, and I was burning and sniffling and choking the whole time. The first thing I did when I got home was chug a glass of water and take a Tylenol Extra Strength dude because my head was killing me, probably from the lack of oxygen and pressure from blowing my nose so much. I couldn't fall asleep for a long time because of the pressure in my head, behind my eyeball, and the clogged-ness of my nose. I was having trouble breathing because the left side of my nose was clogged, and then I finally cleared it but my nose was so chapped and my throat was so irritated that breathing hurt. And to top it all off, I felt like I was going to puke for the whole five hours after I did it to the time I fell asleep. It was awful.

Other than the whole nearly-dying thing, though, it was a terrific party and I had a great time. :D



Moral of the story: No matter how much someone offers to pay you, no matter who dares you, or who you're trying to impress, it is NOT WORTH IT to do the Cinnamon Challenge. Seriously, it is dangerous - I could have actually died. And it was unpleasant enough without dying, thank you. So don't let anyone you know do this, and please don't be the one suggesting it. It is not fun, nor is it funny to watch someone almost choke to death. So don't do it. :D