The semester is drawing to a close. The weather is (supposed to be) getting warmer and the taste of freedom is in the air. Unfortunately, we have to survive finals if we ever want to reach the summer. The weeks before exams are arguably worse than the exams themselves. All of the work you've put off during the semester suddenly catches up to you at the same time that your professors decide to throw thirty more assignments at you. Among the papers and last-minute tests come the dreaded words. "Group project." As if you weren't already stressed enough, you now have to try to coordinate your hectic schedule with other people's equally crazy schedules. Whether you're doing a group presentation, a lab report, or a business plan, these different types of people are guaranteed to manifest themselves in your group.
1. The Busy One
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This person never shows up to meetings because they have some other club or organization to get to. When they rarely do show up, they show up late or have to leave early. The rest of the group always ends up picking up their slack because they "just haven't had time to look at it." But of course they're super sorry and they promise they'll look it over tomorrow.
2. The Leader
This person is the one that claims leadership as soon as the groups are called out. Probably also the same type of person that reminds the professor that you had homework due when none of the class had done it. He/she likes to be in charge for the sole purpose of bossing others around. However, being in charge of the meetings simply means delegating the work to the rest of the group. They spend the rest of the time telling you that you're doing everything wrong, yet never actually contribute anything themselves.
3. The Second in Command
This is the person that the group actually listens to. They take care of all the important stuff and they aren't afraid to tell the "leader" to back off. Entertainment comes in the form of watching these two battle for dominance.
4. The "Morale Booster"
This person is terrible if you want anything to get done, but great if you need a funny YouTube video. They're easily distracted and always the first to suggest taking a break. Skills include story-telling, getting everyone off task, and making meetings twice as long as they need to be.
5. The Slacker.
No matter what type of group work you're doing, or how old you are, every type of group project is guaranteed to have a slacker. Oh sure, they'll offer to help you with the summary and the bibliography, but when you finish your section, you suddenly realize that they didn't contribute a single word.
6. The Tardy One
Unlike the busy one, the tardy one usually shows up- they just show up at least 15 minutes late. This effectively stops all action while the group has to re-explain everything and find a task for tardy person to work on.
7. The Lost One
They're always there during the meetings, but are they really there? The group arrives, the meeting starts, people start on their work, aanndd "Wait, what are we doing again?" they ask as they look up from their phone. You explain what's going on, tell them what they should be working on... and they promptly go back to their Twitter feed. You can occasionally count on them to get work done, but it's probably not the right assignment.
8. The Quiet One
Normally by the completion of your group project, some sort of weird bond has formed between the group members. There's just something about spending multiple late night hours with people that forces you to become friends. But then there's the quiet person. They worked diligently and did their fair share. However, after it's all over and you pass them on campus, they won't acknowledge your friendly wave. You start to wonder if they were ever actually a part of your group at all.
