In the anime film Your Name, the two teenagers Taki and Mitsuha randomly start switching bodies in their sleep. At first, the two young adults do exactly what you might expect them to do: Taki inspects “his” breasts whenever he wakes up in Mitsuha’s body, and Mitsuha feels awkward every time she needs to pee. Eventually, however, the two figure out a way to communicate and even hit their stride.
Taki uses his stubbornness and can-do attitude to establish some boundaries and confidence in Mitsuha’s life, and Mitsuha shows Taki that revealing your soft side can actually land you a date. The more time they spend trading notes, the more each of them understands about the other sex — and their own. In a way, what Taki and Mitsuha are going through is the ultimate internship for life.
Just imagine for a moment: Every year, for an odd seven days doled out here and there, we all switch bodies with someone on the other end of the various spectra we inhabit. The rich become poor. The poor become rich. Asians become Europeans. Americans become Africans. Ladies become gentlemen, and gentlemen turn into ladies. How much richer would the world be in empathy? In the end, we’d all be better off for it.
Here’s the thing: While you can’t literally go on an alter-ego field trip whenever you desire, thanks to your human brain, you’re uniquely equipped for out-of-body experiences without having to go anywhere at all. You can’t trade places with Taki and Mitsuha, but you can watch movies like Your Name — and imagine. You can witness the people passing through your life, and imagine. And you can even come up with your own, custom-made, never-existed-at-all scenarios — and imagine.
Use your mind. Exercise your empathy. Accept the ultimate internship, and put yourself in others’ shoes.