I wasn’t used to studying in groups. Partly because I thought working with a group was slow.

And partly because something in me made me to think I was wiser than my peers and didn’t need their assistance in any way.

The fool that I was, pride wouldn’t let me see.

It took a bold friend to cure me of the disease. I wonder how many friends would do that.

It was after a class. Actually, our last class for the semester in level 100.

She walked with me to some distance after class, chatting with me about our high school days, and asking of what grades I got in the final exams.

I remember telling her that grades at the senior high do not matter. I felt they were not accurate yardsticks for measuring a student’s true worth. Especially considering the malpractices that go on during senior high school final exams.

She said grades in one’s high school final exams matter. I nodded, partly to avoid a heated argument. It was nice to be diplomatic.

I felt flattered that a big girl in the class like that would see me off after a class. Little did I know she had a message and was waiting for just the right moment to deliver it.

And that moment was when we were about to part.

“You know you’re such a cool friend I admire a lot.” She began. And so did the inflation of my head with pride.

“But there is something you did in the course of the semester that had crossed the lines.” She went on, my heart beating unusually faster.

“We were given a group assignment and everyone was present at the meeting, except you. You came late. And we handed you the points we had discussed. You were to organize our thoughts into an essay and present to the lecture. Instead you presented your own ideas to the lecturer, indirectly implying that everything we had discussed was rubbish. “She dropped the bomb.

I hurried in with an explanation.

“Oh, I only thought it was the best thing to do for the group.” I tried to explain.

In my heart, my real motive was that their points didn’t make any sense to me, I thought their points were bullshit. But how could I say this to her?

She told me never to do that again, adding that Monica, one of our group members, was very mad when I did that.

Now I understood that Monica wanted to come herself and deliver the blows but instead Lydia came to do it in a nice way so the incident doesn’t kill our friendship. Lydia and I were always seated together in class.

I apologized to Lydia and thanked her for the prompt.

I vowed in my heart henceforth to take other people’s opinions seriously, and never make others feel inferior.

Initially, my pride and self-esteem was punctured after Lydia left.

But upon careful thought, I saw the wisdom in what she said and did. Thank God I had the humility to swallow my pride and change afterwards.

I even started participating in and organizing group studies. And I began to realize that there are many people far wiser than I was, and by tapping into the experiences of others, I saved myself a lot of stress and grew in knowledge over a short period of time.

Group studies played an instrumental role in my graduation with a first class.

All thanks to the wisdom of a friend in cautioning me against underrating other people.

It pays to be humble in accepting bitter criticism of oneself.

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