“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10…personal jinx!”

My informant learned this game in elementary school.  All the girls knew the game, so it passed around to everyone.  Basically, when two children say the same word at the same time, one of them needs to yell out “personal jinx” and count to ten without any interruptions.  Once the kid is jinxed, the person who yelled out “personal jinx” first is the only one who can break the jinx by saying the kid’s name.  If the kid talks while he or she is jinxed, then he or she violates the curse and deserves a punishment like a punch on the arm.
She used to play this game all the time with her friends.  She would always be the first one racing to call “personal jinx” on someone whenever someone said the same word at the same time as her.  She recalls playing this game because it was fun.  “Personal jinx” was one of those silly games that little kids play as a way of spending their time.  It allowed her to have a sense of power over her friends because she was able to control the length of time that they weren’t allowed to speak for.  By saying “personal jinx,” she would be the only person who could break the jinx.
As a mature teenager now, my informant seldom plays this game.  There have been many incidents in which she and a friend have said the same word simultaneously, but she does not always say “personal jinx.”  Now that she’s older, the game does not come naturally to her.  She only says “personal jinx” when she thinks of it, which is not very frequently.  Angel remembers the innocent days of childhood whenever she thinks about “personal jinx.”  This game is one of the many that she used to play back when all she did was play games and didn’t have to worry about important things.
I remember playing this game myself.  I was always the one getting jinxed.  Sometimes, I would just give up and receive the punishment for talking.  I think that this game is only suitable for elementary school children.  Playing this game now is just not the same.  Teenagers and adults jinxing each other is not very mature.  Back in the day though, I really enjoyed playing this game because it was just a ridiculous game that everyone played.  I don’t think that children can have the opportunity to rebel and not play because even if a child rebels, the person doing the jinxing can always just punish the person for talking anyway.