Opinion by Delaney Stekr

Everyone and their mother has a set of pet peeves that drive them up a wall. For my mother, it is that I never ever shut the drawers on my dresser. Sorry, Mom. But if you are a rare soul who cannot be bothered by anything, I envy you and have no clue how you pull that off. I cannot go a single day without encountering one of my pet peeves, but only the worst offenders have made it into this opinion column.

Sometimes when I am walking down the hallway behind someone plodding along, I wonder if I set a tortoise next to them who would get to the end of the hallway first. Tortoise would win every time.

Regardless of whether I am actually in a hurry or not, I just like to get to places in a timely manner. I would also like to take this moment to formally apologize to anyone who has seen me walking down the hall with a not-so-pleasant look on my face. The only explanation I have is that I am on a mission, always.

Another pet peeve that is slightly irrational is the sound that cars make when they lock. I got so fed up with it on my own car that I read a large portion of my car’s manual and figured out how to turn it off. But every time I hear a that “beep beep,” it makes my skin crawl.

These two small irritants are just the start of a seemingly never-ending list of things that just push my buttons. But, apparently I am not alone in this. Pet peeves have been studied, and a lot of people are bothered by inconsequential things. Broadly, there are three categories that scientists break pet peeves into. Social, environmental and interpersonal annoyances exist in daily life. The violation of social norms, unpleasant sounds and quirky habits of those around us are less than enjoyable. It is much easier to understand the rage you are feeling when you know these distinct categories of pet peeves.

Scientifically, experts have found that there is actually a part of our brain that makes us remember negative events more strongly than positive events; probably the reason that such inconsequential things can vex us so.

Whether these annoyances come from obnoxious people, sounds or just general irritants, they can cause serious stress. With that being said, there are some fairly simple solutions to try to keep yourself from getting too angry. First, take a deep breath. Inhale, exhale. These annoyances, in all reality, are not going to be important in five years, so why worry about them for five minutes?

That is a completely hypocritical statement for me, but I am really going to try to ~keep calm~ and not let these things bring me down. The holiday season can be very stressful for everyone, but do not let pet peeves bring you down.