No matter how old, most girls get excited about the quintessential ritual of childhood and teenagehood: the sleepover.

To those who have never had the pleasure of taking part in a sleepover, however, rumors about what happens during one might sound a little weird.

First off, why is the word sleepover always followed by the image of a group of giggling girls? A student from Bear River High School, Tianna Sills, might be able to grant some insight on the matter.

Sills said that based on her own experiences, “I guess that there is a lot of giggling, but it doesn’t help that it’s like that in movies.”

But giggling isn’t the only activity at a sleepover. Sills also shared some other things girls might do.

“The first thing that comes to mind is the girl talk. You would probably call it gossip, but it’s kind of like checking in with the gang and talking about the things you can’t say in public like crushes and other secrets,” she said.

Sleepovers are a safe place. No one has to worry, because what happens at a sleepover stays at the sleepover.

“I’ve been to sleepovers where a lot of embarrassing games are played and questions answered; and there’s no way I’d ever say any of it anywhere else,” Sills said.

A lot of bonds and friendships are strengthened with that level of trust and comfort.

Perhaps one of the most popular of these games played, and one of Sill’s favorites, is M.A.S.H., the fortune-telling game. The rules are pretty simple and really fun.

First, write M.A.S.H. on the top of a piece of paper. Each of the letters stands for Mansion, Apartment, Shack and House. This is the first of several different categories you can choose to write down such as partner, number of kids, job, car, and so forth. Under each of the categories you write four options you would choose, two you like and two you don’t.

Second, choose a number from 3 to 10 and have a friend count out that many of your options, strike out the one they land on, and repeat until all but one option in a category is struck out. Circle the remaining one.

When you have all categories done in that way, you can read out your full fortune.

Sills recalls playing this game recently at a sleepover with one of her best friends.

“We were really tired because it was past midnight and we had been out all day, but we really wanted to play M.A.S.H.,” she said. “We spent almost 20 minutes figuring out as many categories as we could so the game could last as long as possible. I even ended up getting my crush!”

Along with games, Sills said a sleepover is “also an excuse for us to buy a bunch of snacks and eat twice as much as we usually do, and then we stay up as long as we can to spend time relaxing and getting to know ourselves and our friendships!”

Games like M.A.S.H and the snacks are a big part of sleepover culture, but mostly it is a time where girls of all ages can dream of their future and hopes and be as silly as they want before the next day comes.

Alison Shepherd is a senior at Bear River High School where she is on both the yearbook and newspaper staff. Email her at alison.shepherd1327@gmail.com.