AAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!
I've willingly participated in a sociological experiment of sorts, in which I am not speaking for an entire day. My communications professor, who set the whole thing up, calls this an Empathy project. At first I was going to hook up with a homeless person for a day to see how they live, but it's two weeks until the end of the term, and I'm sort of a weenie when it comes to meeting new people anyway, let alone someone who lives on the street. Call me a pussy or whatever, that's just how it turned out.
So far things haven't been too difficult. I got some crap from my roommate, who talked to me for appriximately ten minutes first thing in the morning before she even knew about it. It's truly amazing how one is able to keep up appearances for quite awhile without anyone realizing it. A nod of the head, a smile and afirmative look can get one far in terms of conversation.
I have slipped up, unfortunately, speaking my mind in my history class but once, and then after classes with my friends. I told my friend Beck what time it was without realizing it. Beck wants to do shrooms, but not just yet. At first,this game was quite entertaining in its difficulty, but the longer I do it, the less of a problem I have with it. It becomes an interesting, zen-like practice, a challange to communicate.
There have been an instance or two where I was thinking something, and a friend of mine would respond as if she had heard exactly what I was thinking. This of course was the cause of great confusion on my part, and jeering on her part.
As the day moves forward, so my silence stretches on. You get used to it after a few hours. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has had problems keeping their yaps shut for an hour or less. It forces you to listen.