back in the day (second grade, circa. 1989) i got one of my first experiences with a “group” project.
five of us seven-year-olds had to get together and figure out different vocabulary words on a ditto (real word. look it up).
me, being awesome, thought this would be fun times because i always knew all the answers. (what can i say? i was awesome at school.)
and then, there was the infamous dispute.
we had to figure out what the word plain meant. and i said ‘an open section of land’ (or something like that). but the other kids in my stupid group said ‘no! duh, it’s a flying aircraft!’ (or something like that) and i was all trying to explain to them that there were TWO words that sounded the same but meant different things.
alas, the other four kids out voted me.
and we got the stupid question wrong. im thinking they’re all losers living in trailer parks now as a result.
the part of this story that really p*ssed me off though was that my teacher had overheard the conversation and after we handed in our sheets (WRONG answer and all) she whispered to me that i was right. umm, lady?! was there a reason you didn’t feel the need to teach the group a vocabulary lesson and say something when it actually MATTERED? is it because you’re stupid? probably.
i have spent every day since then hating group projects. i have also spent every day since then hoping i was on the right side of such arguments. hoping that i make the right choice whether it’s the popular one or not.
my point is, just because a majority of people think a certain way, that doesn’t mean it’s the right way. even IF they use the word ‘duh’ to make their points. (especially, if they use the word ‘duh’ to make their points.)
also, my other point is that i’ve obviously been awesome since at LEAST 1989.