I was taking an online language class last Summer…

and we had to complete a video dialogue with a classmate. The day before the assignment was due, we had planned to record it. After seeing that morning that they hadn't written anything in our shared document, I texted them a reminder. They responded with "I dropped the class sorry".

One time during sophomore year we were being assigned groups…

and a kid in my class who bullied me literally stood up and shouted I want *my name* because she gets A's" and I was like uh, no.

I did most of the work for the group…

by studying the slides and putting most of the effort into it. My partner switched slides on me last minute. They didn't know what they were talking about or how to pronounce things, so I had to coach the from the side lines. Boy did that make me wish we could choose our own partners.

4. We were assigned partners for our final presentation.

Two days before the presentation, after I completed the entire thing, I texted my partner and was met with no response. So, I go to class, and we're about halfway through the presentations. My partner hasn't show up and I'm up next to present. My prof asks me "Is so-and-so your partner?" and I say yes. So, the prof pulls me aside to tell me my partner dropped out literally the night before the project.

There was a group of four of us assigned to a poet…

whom we had to research and lead a discussion on. Three of us were on it, split up the work and set deadlines for ourselves and everything went fine. One person decided their contribution would be the bibliography slide. They showed up to class late, didn't say a word the entire presentation instead just clicking through the slides. Our professor said we did well, thank God.

6. So, I was in a group last Fall that was set to meet...

and I'm a commuter, so I had to come down on our day off school. I'm like one train stop away, and they all decided not to meet anymore. So now I'm mad because I also took off work to come down and ended up 30 minutes from home annoyed and tired. Now I make sure never to schedule a time when I wouldn't already be on campus.

7. Last year I had to do a debate project for my environment class.

I was working with a close friend, our mutual friend, and a random guy who sat near us. It's right around finals time and it's now the night before the debate. The doc is still not looking too hot. We haven't figured out any rebuttals, we don't have an opening or closing statement, and we don't have an order we're going to speak in. For me, it was super stressful to think about presenting and not having a plan.

I wound up trying to pick up the slack, but I couldn't focus on what I was writing because I was so stressed about getting it all done. I got so frustrated I walked out of my room and into the nearby stairwell. I sat on the landing and had music playing, when the air started getting hotter and thicker while somehow getting thinner at the same time. I remember my vision going hazy, my ears ringing, and realizing I was breathing way faster than I needed to be. I'd never had an anxiety attack before.

I called a friend who I knew understood and dealt with anxiety/panic attacks and asked what to do. She helped me through it, figuring out how to calm me down and told me to get a treat for myself afterwards. I skedaddled to 7-Eleven for a pack of King Size Skittles and took some time to dance that night, since it's something I love.

The next morning, the morning of the debate, I think is the most carelessly confident I've ever been in my life. What sucks is that the careless confidence came from me being so caring about the project for so long that I gave everything I had and by the time the presentation came, I had nothing left to give.

We wound up winning and getting a perfect score on the debate. It's a real shame how we got there though, and that's the reason why I truly can't stand group projects anymore.