Adventures in Wonderland

The Mock Turtle's Story: And the Moral of That is...

When I was in college...I wound up being in a group project with two people who I thought that I would have trouble getting along with Al and Christina. I hadn't worked with them before but I had seen them interact in class. I tend to be pretty quiet and reserved taking time to think things though. In contrast Al was loud and forceful with his opinions. He tended to brag about his abilities a lot. It got to the point where I'd cringe when the teacher would call on him because it would lead to 10 minutes of him talking about himself. Christina was similar. I had seen her present with another group in the past and she seemed like she was really pushy. She criticized the people she worked with in front of the teacher and it seemed like she had to control the project from all angles. I felt sorry for the people who were working on the project with her.

When I found out that I would be working with those two I was pretty worried. This upcoming assignment was a major project and worth a very large percentage of our grade so we would be spending a lot of time together. It didn't seem like I would be in for pleasant experience.

Sure enough... when we met up to discuss the project, Al and Christina immediately took control discussing how the project should go and instructing the other teammates. You would think that the two of them would have conflicted with one another but they got along great. I decided that the best option was to let the two of them take the lead and provide whatever support I could to help the project run smoothly and hope for the best. 30 minutes into the initial group meeting the two of them finally stopped talking and Al asked for my input. So far the strategy they laid out had seemed pretty good so I told them I agreed with it and added in a couple of ideas I thought would make the project go a little more smoothly. They seemed to accept and like my feedback.

As it turned out... the project went really well. Christina and I paired up together for the initial half of the project and there were some things which she knew better than me. I was able to learn a lot from working with her. What didn't come across in her initial presentation was that she was actually very kind and nice. She helped me with topics I didn't understand and she valued my input. Al did like to talk a lot but he was actually really friendly and helpful too. I was paired with him for the second half of the project and we worked together really well. I also learned a lot from him too. The three of us made a great team. I would take the lead on topics I knew a little bit better and we were able to help each other out. Both Al and Christina actually became two of my best friends and we continued to stay in touch after the project and even after college.

The point of my story is this... Initial impressions of people can be wrong. It is important to give people a chance. Sometimes they could surprise you!
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562 Words

Prompt
1. "And the Moral of That Is" – The Duchess does seem to find a lot of morals in things, so tell us a non-fictional event that left you with a most important moral you’ll never forget. (<1000 words).