Group projects are extremely stressful, especially for an introvert. Let us, for a moment, picture a classroom in which the instructor announces a group project. The instructor goes on to announce that the selection of the partner is up to the students themselves. There are approximately three reactions to this announcement.
The first reaction is that of the self-exclaimed BFF's (best friends forever).
In this moment, eye contact is made, and a surge of energy enters their very hearts. Indeed, the high-five that inevitably follows such an emotional upheaval seems to shake the room, as the social superiority of those with innate connections in the classroom is established.
The second reaction is that of the humbly popular extrovert.
This is that groan that varies but almost universally maintains a similar feel to the "ugh, I hate group projects." These people then immediately go on to turn to their friend and say something to the affect of, "You want to be partners?" They ask this question with somewhat of a grimace, clearly expressing their disappointment at having been given this assignment, while at the same time clearly demonstrating that the assignment is not actually difficult for them.
The third reaction is my reaction.
That is the instinct to immediately summon a "turtle shell" attitude and literally hide from any potential eye contact. The great fear in picking a partner sets in, and the desire to seem like it's no problem prompts one to ignore everyone around. Naturally, this strategy ends in either not having a partner, which is awkward since you supposedly need one, or getting stuck with the other "shell attitude" introvert in the room. The only issue with "getting stuck" with the other introvert is that it's likely that neither introvert will be the kind of partner that takes initiative.
I have two questions here. First of all, is it right of me to want professors to assign pairs, at the detriment of the first two groups of people, for my sake? Second, why is it that no matter how hard I try I cannot seem to shake my turtle shell instinct?
I'm not going to bother answering these questions. I have an actual group project to worry about, so finishing this article with anything seemingly helpful to the reader is simply not worth my time. So, I'll conclude with a third question, are there other reactions to group projects that I simply have not observed or am unaware of?
