Okay, so I got my first summons for jury duty. It was on may 28th and i went and they actually picked me. I went along with it because I thought it would be a piece of cake 4-5 days kind of thing but in fact I have to be there for 9 days. That's like two weeks minus the weekends. 
I didn't say anything when they asked if any of us have a medical condition that prevents us from serving as jurors because I thought I could handle it. I'm not very good at talking in social situations and it often takes me longer to process something in my head and by the time i want to reply i'm like three seconds behind from the usual one second reply a person gives. I thought it was all going to be business being a grand juror but everyone is getting to know each other after spending three days in the same court room. Today (which was the third day) I got asked by one of the male jurors in front of everyone what my name was. I said my name, and he's all "Hi, ___! How are you doing?" I looked down in shyness and he went on to comment, "You're so quiet. We haven't heard you speak yet" which I believe is an understatement. I was never a chatterbox the entire three days but I most certainly answered when the juror secretary inquired (in front of everyone) what my juror number was and who was the juror's number who sat next to me (if the person was absent). Another male juror in front of me said, "She's stuck in the corner reading a book all the time." Later he said I seemed to not want to open up to the other jurors and stuff. What i didn't understand is when he said i should learn to "cope" like everyone else is doing. Maybe he thinks cause i'm not saying much that i must be irritated to be doing jury duty with a bunch of strangers?
I have many things I dislike about being in the jury but out of all of them i dislike that i just can't relate to the other jurors. they're all older than me (or perhaps more experienced) cause they talk about having jobs and stuff but for me it's unknown terrain when they chat about things like sports and a good hotdog restaurant in another city i never even heard of. i would say yeah that most of the jurors are little chatterboxes and i'm sitting in the corner trying my best to not look disengaged but doing my own thing at the same time.
After I got the comments about me (today) I was feeling very bad. I almost cried right then and there. I was tearing up a little but i blinked them back. it's so hard to talk to people especially when i'm in a group that big (23 jurors). I would so prefer 2-4 other people around me instead. Of course they don't know i feel intimidated by their presence alone and it's not so much what they have said or not said to me. that's how powerful the pull is for me. i was sitting there while a case was being presented wondering if it was better if i just ran to the warden's office afterwards to plead to be let go from this jury because of my difficulty communicating and interacting with other jurors but i didn't do that. i don't feel as bad now but i'm afraid something else is going to happen tomorrow. i'm scared.
I have been able to convince myself being quiet isn't the worst thing in the world and it's not like i committed a sin by being extremely quiet. at least i participate when it comes to voting on a case. i don't argue like the other jurors do back and forth about evidence in a case. i listen but i just don't give them any feedback. who said i wanted to be on the jury anyways? i got randomly picked for goodness' sake. Any advice?
I didn't say anything when they asked if any of us have a medical condition that prevents us from serving as jurors because I thought I could handle it. I'm not very good at talking in social situations and it often takes me longer to process something in my head and by the time i want to reply i'm like three seconds behind from the usual one second reply a person gives. I thought it was all going to be business being a grand juror but everyone is getting to know each other after spending three days in the same court room. Today (which was the third day) I got asked by one of the male jurors in front of everyone what my name was. I said my name, and he's all "Hi, ___! How are you doing?" I looked down in shyness and he went on to comment, "You're so quiet. We haven't heard you speak yet" which I believe is an understatement. I was never a chatterbox the entire three days but I most certainly answered when the juror secretary inquired (in front of everyone) what my juror number was and who was the juror's number who sat next to me (if the person was absent). Another male juror in front of me said, "She's stuck in the corner reading a book all the time." Later he said I seemed to not want to open up to the other jurors and stuff. What i didn't understand is when he said i should learn to "cope" like everyone else is doing. Maybe he thinks cause i'm not saying much that i must be irritated to be doing jury duty with a bunch of strangers? I have many things I dislike about being in the jury but out of all of them i dislike that i just can't relate to the other jurors. they're all older than me (or perhaps more experienced) cause they talk about having jobs and stuff but for me it's unknown terrain when they chat about things like sports and a good hotdog restaurant in another city i never even heard of. i would say yeah that most of the jurors are little chatterboxes and i'm sitting in the corner trying my best to not look disengaged but doing my own thing at the same time.
After I got the comments about me (today) I was feeling very bad. I almost cried right then and there. I was tearing up a little but i blinked them back. it's so hard to talk to people especially when i'm in a group that big (23 jurors). I would so prefer 2-4 other people around me instead. Of course they don't know i feel intimidated by their presence alone and it's not so much what they have said or not said to me. that's how powerful the pull is for me. i was sitting there while a case was being presented wondering if it was better if i just ran to the warden's office afterwards to plead to be let go from this jury because of my difficulty communicating and interacting with other jurors but i didn't do that. i don't feel as bad now but i'm afraid something else is going to happen tomorrow. i'm scared.
I have been able to convince myself being quiet isn't the worst thing in the world and it's not like i committed a sin by being extremely quiet. at least i participate when it comes to voting on a case. i don't argue like the other jurors do back and forth about evidence in a case. i listen but i just don't give them any feedback. who said i wanted to be on the jury anyways? i got randomly picked for goodness' sake. Any advice?
