At some point during university (or, indeed, school) you will be assigned the dreaded group project.
At least, it appears to be dreaded by a many students. I can certainly understand why. Often group projects involve being placed with a couple of people you’ve never met before. Any group arranged by the lecturers will involved several of the following characters:
The Genius
This guy/girl has a natural talent for the subject. They don’t understand how anyone else could have difficulty with the project, but they will accept their pathetic attempts with a kindly smile and proceed to do the whole project by themselves. If there are two Geniuses in a group, it often ends badly.
The Perfectionist
This person isn’t as naturally good at the subject as the Genius is, but they make up for that with their determination to succeed. They expect everyone else to put in the same amount of effort as they do and are the most likely to have a meltdown over a typo in the heading on page 3. They are the reason the group gets that extra 0.5% for presentation.
The Wannabe-leader
This person is convinced they are a fantastic manager. By the end of the project, they will have made the shy one cry themselves to sleep and ‘fixed’ everyone’s work. One Wannabe-leader in my class announced that one of his team members should act as his secretary for the duration of the project.
The Slacker
The presence of the Slacker in a group project isn’t a possibility – it’s a certainty. Many people who work hard for their individual grades are quite happy to let their team members carry the load. This can be a good thing, as it is easy for a group to bond over disliking someone. Slackers come in many forms, the most obvious being the ones who don’t turn up to a group work session. They are sometimes then spotted in a video on Instagram marked with #dayoff.
7discoveries 
By the way, I love Harry, Ron and Hermione. They just fit the roles.
Draco, on the other hand, is a slimy git.
Great Harry Potter connections! So funny, and so true to real life encounters as well. 🙂
~Aspen
p.s. Can I post a link to your post on my own blog?
Hi Aspen. Thanks – and go ahead with the link if you want
Thanks! And thanks for the fun post!
~Aspen
I hate the slackers. I usually take lead when it comes to written assignments and my friends are willing to let me do so. I hate late submissions and I cannot stand badly written work. Maybe that makes me the perfectionist-wannabe-leader? LOL, but I don’t treat anybody like my secretary.. haha. If they don’t do their part, they will face the music.
Hi Jeyna. Sounds like you are a perfectionist (I have that tendency too) but I don’t know if you’re really a wannabe-leader, as I define them as people who think they can lead but can’t. If your friends are happy to let you take the lead, you’re probably just a leader – which is a good thing 🙂