You are swapping bodies this semester!

Your mind swirls. This is going to be a wild ride. And who will you swap with?

"This is incredible man, this could be the experience of a lifetime," exclaimed Aaron. "Holy crap, I guess we will have tits, that's going to be insane."

"Yea although do you think we will swap with girls? I know they have a preference for that given the study, but the idea is still kind of weird," said Mark nervously.

"Haha maybe that is part of the fun," I said. "Whatever it is, its going to be an eventful semester."

~

The next several days go by in a blur as you all prepare for the Swap and the disruption for normal college routine. The instructions were clear that participants should show up to the Lab for orientation and matching assignments. As you filter in to the large conference room, you are feeling butterflies. You take a seat next to your friends - in addition to Aaron and Mark, a few of your other male friends had made it into the class, including Anthony and Pete, two nerdy but good-hearted guys. On the seats is a large packet with information on the process and the rules. Looking around, it seems like there are a good 60 or 70 people who made it in to the class. Not that many, but for the University that was a tiny fraction of students.

"Hello everyone," says a presentable looking scientist with thick glasses and a white coat at the front of the room. "Good morning and welcome to the Orientation for Applied Neuro-Embodiment & Socio-Psych 401. As you well know, this will involve the application of advanced neuroscience to embody one of your classmates for the semester and experience their lives, under the supervision of our researchers, of course. This class focuses on gender and embodied identities related to the roles of men and women - you will see a very different way of acting in society. We are very excited for you to begin this process but please be advised of the ground rules. Remember, there is a strict rule of confidentiality - you must fully inhabit the life of your partner and act as they would without revealing your identity. This includes friends and family (within reason), but we will have aids and coaching to help if needed. Naturally, we also forbid any activity that might cause potential or actual harm to the body as well..."

The Experiment Coordinator continues her presentation, describing the rules and the waivers needing signing. There would be a class every Friday for participants, which would include a teaching on various topic related to neuroscience, gender or identity. You would take all of the classes the swap partner had signed up for and participate in their extracurriculars as you had marked down in an earlier questionnaire. But aside from that, it was very simple - you would *be* the other person for an entire six months.

"So everyone has signed their forms? Very good. Now, we will pass out personalized informational packets including the name of your experiment partner and details about their routines and personal lives..."

Your heart beats as the lab coated researchers pass out the packets. "I hope I get someone good," whispers Aaron next to you, "and not someone totally boring."

Who will you be? As you get your packet, you are filled with anticipation and curiosity.