The following post was written by Sarah P. in response to the Day 13 Challenge Action: High-Five a random person in the hallway.
Today’s challenge was to high-five a random person in the hallway. The theory behind the action it is that it will help us to initiate a connection with another student and possibly make someone's day a little brighter. What this challenge did for me, personally, is to make me more aware of other students passing by me in between classes. Usually I just walk to my next class as quickly as possible, without really paying attention to others. On this day, I looked around, and as I was looking for a potential high-five recipient, I noticed how hard it was. I expected to just walk down every hall with my hand out, high-fiving everyone. But, it wasn't as easy as that. Hallways are chaotic; kids don't stay in their lane. It was difficult to walk up to someone moving past me and give them a high five. Another obstacle to the challenge I found particularly difficult is that most people are looking down at their phones while they walk during passing periods; they are blocking out the world. Students aren't taking even these small opportunities in between classes to look around, to see who is in our school community. Making connections with people is hard when they are staring down at their phones, basically signaling others to stay away. Something more personal that I discovered about myself from trying this challenge action is how anxious I get in even simple social interactions. Whenever I saw a person who I could high-five, I got too nervous and missed the chance. I did manage to high-five a few people, but they were people I knew so I felt more comfortable interacting with them. Though high-fiving a stranger who isn't expecting it isn't really your standard social interaction, it still serves as a reminder that we would all benefit from more opportunities to interact with each other. It would help people to become more comfortable with others, and to be more open to putting themselves out there. This challenge was a nice way to encourage people in our school community to engage with each other more.
8 Comments
Christina
3/27/2017 11:27:27 am
Sarah, I really love that you attempted this challenge despite its difficulty. I agree with your point that it sounds really easy to just walk up to someone and give them a high five, but in reality, it is actually the complete opposite. I feel that this is such a difficult challenge that puts people out of their comfort zone but one that everyone should at least try to do. This challenge gives you the opportunity to make a new friend or talk to someone you normally wouldn't talk to on a regular day without this challenge pushing you to do so. I feel the same way that you did when participating in this challenge. When you walk up to someone that you have never spoken to and ask them for a high five, their potential answer and the thought that they might look at you like you're strange is enough to make me not want to ask anyone. Although this challenge is somewhat difficult, if you complete this challenge a few times with people you don't know, it gradually becomes easier. I also feel that even if you just high five one or two people and attempt to make a genuine connection with them beyond the high five itself, you could make a new friend that you wouldn't have made otherwise.
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melanie
3/29/2017 08:37:03 am
Hey Sarah! This challenge was a personal favorite of mine because of the fact that I never realized that something so small such as a high five, could be so difficult to do. I would say I am pretty outgoing and am willing to talk to anyone and I usually smile and say hi to people in the hallways but for some reason, high fiving someone was different. Making the physical connection was hard especially being in a very individualistic environment that encouraged people to keep their hands to themselves and keep personal space between you and other people in the area.
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Ama Asamoah
3/29/2017 04:00:44 pm
Sarah, it is interesting to see that a challenge that is deemed to be so simple and non-time consuming can be rather hard. This was a challenge I was debating to take on, but decided to avoid, because I believed it would be hard to find a recipient. When you really look at the hallways everyone is rushing to class, walking with their head down, listening to music with their headphones , or texting on their phones while weaving through the halls. Because of these typical actions, it is hard to approach people because they are either not paying attention or because they seem unapproachable. I completely agree with your idea that in those short three minutes, it can be quite chaotic because people already have their mind set on their next destination. In addition, this gesture is hard to give because you have to find someone that you have a feeling would give you a high five back or is even paying attention to you at all. Also, I believed that if I tried to give someone a high-five they would blankly stare at me or my hand. If I was to participate in this challenge, I too would have high fived someone I knew.
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Megan Doherty
3/29/2017 04:07:50 pm
Hi Sarah!
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Dalena Huynh
3/30/2017 02:44:59 pm
Hi Sarah!
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Erin Hanafin
4/3/2017 02:01:32 am
Sarah, Your post of your experience was very interesting. I thought that this challenge would be easy as well because a high five is such a simple action that I seem to do all the time, but I soon realize its completely different when you are trying to high five a random student in the hallway. I found that most of the time if you wanted a high five you would have to yell "hey high five" to get any sort of interaction, and in that case most people responded to me. If I tried to initiate a high five simply through eye contact I don't think I would have been able to high five anyone that day. The statement you said about people always being on their phones in the hall is very true. I recently read an article about cellphone usage in our generation and I think this situation ties into that article vey well for how people in out society act. I feel like many people hide behind their phones in the halls in order to stay away from an awkward interaction, in this case for some people that might be a high five. I really think this over phone usage is ruining the potential social interactions between students in the halls. I also think it would feel a little awkward to give a random person a high five, but you never know how that high five could change someones day. You are not alone in feeling anxious about spontaneous interaction with a student. I also was very nervous to talk to people that I didn't know when I was participating in my own challenge (ice cream equity event). I was afraid at how they would react to me and often times I was even ignored, so I can relate to your high five experience in that way. I think your reflection was very thoughtful and well covered. Great job!
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Meghan Murray
4/3/2017 05:53:40 am
Hi Sarah!!
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Gabby Desrochers
4/3/2017 12:00:56 pm
Hi Sarah!
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