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Group Work

One of my least favorite things I have had to do in school is group work. I am aware that I will have to deal with people all my life, no matter what I do, and working together is difficult, if not impossible, to avoid completely.

I am a social butterfly most of the time and get along with most people so my aversion to group work is not due to any asocial tendencies, as I have none. It is more due to the difficulty of being able to pick times to meet with people that will be convenient, and also due to the fact that many times, I end up in a group with a person or people who are not willing to do their share of the work. I always go into my group willing to do my share of the work and expecting others to be willing to do theirs, but it does not always play out that smoothly. Almost every group I have been in has had an unfair division of work and more than once -- make that, many times -- I have had to pick up other peoples' slack.

A dilemma arises when your grade is in danger. Do you leave the work that is not yours for the other person to do even if you are unsure if they will do it? Or do you take on the extra responsibility, knowing it is unfair to you, to save your grade and your group's grade? Frankly, I would rather just have an entire assignment to myself. It is far easier for one person to do a project that need not be divided.