At a young age, we waited for April Fool’s Day in anticipation, eager to get a good laugh. However, as we are approaching adult years, people have developed the idea that April Fool’s Day is too immature to participate in. Why is it now that people seem so sensitive to the idea of a good prank?

I can remember my siblings and I waking up early and quietly walking down the hall to the kitchen. Trying to suppress our giggles, we wrapped a rubber band around the hose on the kitchen sink, and then we curled back into bed and waited for it all to go down. Just minutes later, my mom turned on the sink and found the nice surprise of water splashing everywhere. My brothers and I snickered as she dried herself off.

As I grew older, the jokes ceased and this seemed true for more than just myself. It was “childish” or “immature.” The fun slowly faded until the holiday was forgotten. The stress of life over-rode everything else. Homework piles higher and higher until I can’t see over the top. Rehearsals and practices sneak up on me and steal my time away.  April Fool’s Day is far away from my train of thought.

It also seems that the pressure on a good prank has grown. You can’t just hide your friend’s phone or decorate their face with marker while they sleep. It has to be better, bigger. If they aren’t in tears by the end…it isn’t good enough. It’s easy to forget how perfect the classic pranks are. Sure, they aren’t as big as pretending to kidnap your best friend, or telling everyone you’re moving to Argentina, but hey, they’re classics.

Forget the social expectation of what a prank is and go all out with the classics. Feel free to put salt in your best friend’s soda. Call your mom and tell her you got a very expensive parking ticket. Set your brothers alarm two hours fast so that he wakes up for school “two hours late.” The list of good classics is endless, just try your best to steer away from anything traumatizing.

This April Fool’s Day, try to forget about the stress of everyday life and instead think about how to annoy your friends just enough that it’s still funny. Remember, life’s not interesting if you don’t make a few enemies. So go all out, be a prankster.