One month has passed since the body swap and I can say that I have been doing well for myself.
Firstly, since I couldn’t keep my name, I changed it to Dahlia. I have two reasons for that: one is that I like my name starting with ‘D’, I usually put ‘D’s’ in my stuff and I want to keep doing that; the other reason is that dahlias are my favorite flower, one time a saw a few for a sample in art class and they looked quite impressive to me… not that anybody knows that, the second reason is a secret.
By the way, Brad changed his name to John, not for any deep reason, he just liked the sound of it.
Regarding my studies, I dusted off all my books and notebooks starting from 6th grade and started reviewing them. I have never been a genius, but I am glad that I was a hard worker and wrote all my notes properly and neatly.
The experience of relearning something has been different from regular study; usually when I think about some complex subject that my new body should have no knowledge of, I get an idea of what the subject is about, but I feel like my mind is full of fog and the knowledge is spotty. However, after reading about the subject just once, the knowledge becomes clear, no need for reading again or taking time to comprehend
This however, has a limit. After one hour of study or so, I get mentally exhausted like if I have been making mental calculations for hours and it becomes difficult to focus; when that happens, I have no choice but to stop using my brain.
According to the doctors, this happens because my brain is storing new knowledge and making mental connections at a super fast pace and it needs time to rest and regain energy and nutrients afterward. Nonetheless, this apparently has a time limit. According to the scientist hypothesis, the mind needs its knowledge anchored in the brain to be able to be recalled properly, and in two or three months all knowledge that is not stored in the brain will decay rapidly and be forgotten.
I panicked a lot when I heard that, thinking that I would have to see videos and pictures from when I was a child to not forget who I am, but the doctors say that personal memories are special and intrinsically linked to the mind, and will not be forgotten. This is also the reason why I don’t get personal details about Hailey’s life even though I have her brain.
I have been working hard and already crammed two and half years of school and I am planning to get to my former academic knowledge before starting school.
Brad, I mean, John has been getting online lessons and videos to prepare for when classes start for real. Not only is he learning school knowledge, but also common sense and small things that you learn as you grow up. If I thought I was making good progress, John is absorbing knowledge like a black hole. He said that since the knowledge is already in his brain, as long as he accesses it, he will remember and understand it. However, this speed will apparently slow down as the material ramps up in complexity
I think I understand perfectly what he is talking about because Mariah has been giving me more in depth classes about taking care of my body and make up, and usually I understand everything in an instant; this makes me think that this was information that Hailey already possessed.
All in all, John is maturing at an extremely fast pace; apart from some mannerisms and naivety that he sometimes shows, I could not distinguish him form an ordinary teeneager at a glance
I, on the other hand, am feeling like I am growing a bit childish. Sometimes things upset me more than they reasonably should, and I often get emotional for small reasons and it becomes difficult to control my feelings.
With respect to my body, since I decided to keep my body fit, I decided to join a gym. When I talked with the facility about it, they encouraged it and recommended me to a personal nutritionist and trainer, they even accepted to pay for it with my monthly stipend. I guess it makes sense that they want to keep me healthy and fit for the experiment, and I have no problems with that.
As I expected, my body was a bit underweight and when my trainer gave me a new diet, I had to practically force myself to eat more food than this body was used to; at least on the first days. As I kept training, my appetite started to improve and it became easy to see the results on my body. My arms and legs started to get some mass and became a bit more toned; definitely not muscular but it changed from scrawny to healthy looking; In addition, my torso began to fill as well, and I could not see my ribs sticking from my sides anymore.
My training focused mainly on cardio and flexibility, but from time to time I also trained my muscular strength, and at the end of the month I was feeling more fit and stronger. Also; I could now split my legs in half all the way, and started to learn new exercises to stretch my body in ways I hadn’t thought possible, and that brought me not small amount of joy