Dear Contestants,  

 The USC Ice Bucket Challenge is taking social media by storm. This is very nostalgic for some that knew the ALS ice bucket challenge back in 2014.   

But what’s the new, significant reason to bring back this torture of a challenge? To spread mental health awareness, of course! 

Some people may feel upset that they didn’t get nominated for the challenge. According to Madison Kircher, “It can feel a little like a popularity contest.”  

The challenge is to support mental health but if you don’t have friends to nominate you, you just might feel left out. This defeats the purpose of trying to include everyone. 

On the other hand, those who haven’t been nominated can just volunteer themselves.  This gives them the opportunity to start their own chain of nominations and include others who want to get drenched in ice cold water.   

On March 31, 2025, the first video had been uploaded to Instagram Reels. The donations have been swiftly racking up; over $250,000 has been raised already.   

The quick spread of this challenge caught me by surprise; I’m not going to lie. But seeing everyone having fun getting water dumped over their heads and coming together with friends brought me joy.

I can also speak for myself because I was a victim of this challenge. At first, I wasn’t going to do the challenge because – let’s be serious – who willingly wants to dump ice cold water over themselves?  I did the challenge anyway and it was really fun to do, and my siblings also had fun dumping the freezing cold water on me, too. 

If you want to have a good laugh, I suggest you head onto any social media platform and search the hashtag #SpeakYourMIND. You’ll be able to watch all the different people who got nominated and their reactions.

P.S. you’ve just been nominated.