Which do you think is more difficult: to be extroverted or introverted? Recently two brave seniors, Christian Ramos and Paulomi Rao, decided to find out for themselves. Ramos had to be loud and outgoing, whereas Rao had to be quiet and reserved. It was a twist from their normal personalities, and all of us at The Round Table were curious to see how the experience would turn out. Here’s the recap:

 Christian Ramos (normally quiet): 

The highlights of my loud day started with my second period philosophy class. My class happened to be heading to the media center, so I decided to pay English teacher and Round Table Advisor Jonathan Ringel a visit. I wanted to show him the “new” me. Little did I know I would be dropping in on his sophomore English class. I talked with him for a bit when BAM! A sophomore walks into the room. I had a short conversation with her when BAM! The bell rings. I say “see ya” and start to leave the room when BAM! I had a boost of confidence and yelled, “Peace out sophomores!” right before exiting. Success.

I didn’t know a single face in that class, aside from Ringel, but seeing their stunned reaction gave me a good laugh. Fast forward to third period, and I had a test in BC Calculus. As I enter the class I boomed, “What’s up everybody?” The look of shock on the face of my classmates was priceless. Before I could let them recover I exclaimed “Is everybody ready for this BC Calc test?!” I was full of energy and my peers questioned how my day was going. It was exciting to say the least.

Finally, in my journalism class, I managed to host a question and answer session. I stood at the podium, in the front of the room, and gave my thoughts on various random topics. The focus of the conversation ranged from my favorite color to the meaning of life. When asked what goes on in my mind during the course of a typical school day, I responded with a word I’m sure we all love, “food.”

While at the podium, the main office called Ringel’s room. I answered with an emphatic “Yes!” through the microphone. After hearing her request for a student to be sent, I replied with, “You’ve got it!”

The day was an interesting experience overall. It was a bit weird at times, but it was great fun in the end. Stepping out of my comfort zone, and embracing a completely different side of me, felt refreshing. Since that day I’ve reverted back to my old self, simply because it’s in my nature to be quiet, but I’ll admit that I did enjoy being loud for a day. Try and do something new every once in a while – you just might be surprised at what you discover.

 Paulomi Rao (normally loud):

Let the record show, I tried. As successful as Ramos may have been, my story involves one mishap after another.

Admittedly, I messed up at the beginning of the challenge. Ramos and I were supposed to switch roles on the same day, but I forgot and had to be reminded by a friend. Embarrassed, I decided to pretend I had been quiet all day. Yet after a few minutes, I couldn’t hold myself together and decided to just start “the challenge” the following day. Feeling self-assured, I bet physics teacher Kristine Amon $100 that I could make it through the next day even better than Christian had. That was mistake number one.

The next day started with a sub in AP Physics. Everyone was discussing last minute decisions on senior quotes. Regardless of the tempting atmosphere, I tried to just sit there and listen. Ten minutes in I felt like I was going to explode. For each conversation happening around me, I had three different opinions that I needed to say out loud. Knowing I couldn’t go any further, I decided to give myself a little “cheat” and allow one “time-out” per period. Within the next ten minutes, I had already used five. My plan was completely falling apart.

I tried to make it to the next period with the same idea but it didn’t last very long. One of my classmates actually told me to “shut-up” even though I hadn’t said a word—clearly I even have “loud” body language. When I remained silent for a few minutes many others asked, “What’s wrong?” and “Are you sick?” Even as I continued to try, I felt as if my mouth couldn’t physically stay closed for so long, it needed to be open. It needed to speak.

In the end, I wasn’t able to make it through second period, let alone the entire day. It turns out I’m just a talker and I’ve come to be okay with it. I learned that switching roles for a day was much harder than I ever thought. I give a lot more credit to all the quiet kids in classes who have can successfully learn without being a nuisance to the rest of us. I actually envy you. But who knows? Maybe I’ll grow up to be a quiet person and leave my “crazy talking days” behind. I may even try this experiment once a month. Hopefully by June I’ll be able to make it through an entire day.

I do know one thing for sure; I’m sorry Amon, I’m not paying off our bet.