I have many pet peeves. Most people do, I think.
Most are also smart enough not to publish them for the world to see, but not me!
So here are a few of mine.
If any of them happen to target one or more of your behaviors, please choose one of the following options:
- Assume I’m a prickly monster who might someday learn the error of his ways.
- Recognize that you have an annoying behavior that needs alteration, and thank me for your newfound enlightenment.
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It annoys me when people can’t own where they grew up. For example:
Comedian Marc Maron was born in New Jersey but spent most of his childhood and teenage years in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
But he likes to say he’s “genetically Jersey.”
That’s not a thing.
Actress Zoe Saldana recently said on a podcast that she grew up in New York but later admitted it was actually New Jersey. But she said she didn’t like telling people that she grew up in New Jersey because she felt like a New Yorker.
Also not a thing.
I was born and raised in a small town about 50 miles south of Boston, but I don’t try to claim Boston (or anywhere else) as my hometown. I grew up in Blackstone, Massachusetts — a town most people have never heard of and even fewer people have visited.
It’s fine. I don’t need people defining me by my childhood home.
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It annoys me when actors and filmmakers criticize the use of the word “storytelling” by other actors, screenwriters, and filmmakers.
The rise of the word “storytelling” apparently causes some actors and filmmakers to cringe, while many fellow filmmakers have embraced it to describe what they do.
Being a storyteller, I would seem to have a horse in this race, but that’s not why I am annoyed. I don’t care if they use the word or not, but the visceral response to the word by some actors and filmmakers annoys me.
It’s accurate. They’re telling stories.
I respond similarly when a writer, comedian, actor, or musician describes themselves as an artist, and others respond negatively to the word. You need not apply paint to canvas or chisel to stone to be considered an artist. Making music, writing poems, dancing, and performing onstage are all forms of the creative arts, so if someone wants to refer to themselves as an artist, they should shut up and move on.
If a magician wants to refer to themselves as an artist, I’m okay with it. Mimes and ventrioquists, too.
If you’re not, get over it.
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It annoys me when someone answers a question about their life with their astrological sign.
“Well, I’m a Sagittarius, so…”
Also not a thing.
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It annoys me when someone says, “I should’ve been a teacher.”
Then become a teacher.
We need more teachers, and teacher certification isn’t especially onerous, especially if you already have a college degree. I know many people who have transitioned from one profession to teaching, so if you should’ve been a teacher, then do it.
Otherwise, stop talking about it.
