Pet Peeves

Brooke Heitz
LifeStyles Stringer

Starting the new semester brings about new thoughts to many. For some, switching classes and readjusting to the routine is difficult. Many are nervous and frustrated trying to get back into the groove of things, but for others, adjusting to a new roommate, let alone an old one, is just as trying. Small idiosyncrasies tend to shine through at this point in time after living with the same person for five months. Pet peeves creep out of the walls as many try to restrain themselves from biting their roommate's head off.

Yes, these times are hard to bear for many. According to the America College Dictionary of Random House, a peeve is "an annoyance." This definition seems to be as simple as one can get.

Being college students, that list of complaints and annoyances can be long. For those living at home, having their parents tell them what to do at the age of 18 or older can get quite tiresome.

For those who stay on campus, going home for the holidays was no doubt an adjustment for the family, but also for the student. Returning home meant once again living under the rule of your parents. Curfews existed once again and access to the Internet 24 hours a day was something that many only dreamed about back at school. For some, siblings were also a major factor.

At school, students grow accustomed to not having to deal with the annoyances that many siblings seem to cause. Being away for five months has made many forget what awaits them when they arrive home. The fighting over the bathroom, the phone and the Internet line seem to escape the mind after so long. Many are probably glad to return to school and their now normal surroundings.

To each his or her own on pet peeves though. As each human is different, so are their thoughts and opinions.

SIUE sophomore Kristy Inglis hates dirty bathrooms. "It makes me feel germy and gross," she said.

Dirty bathrooms are definitely on many students' minds whether living on or off campus. In the dorms, cleaning the bathroom is important to some students while others don't mind it becoming dirty.

"Just to know what some have done in the bathroom grosses me out," Inglis said. Sometimes this issue can get more than sticky between roommates or suite-mates.

Inglis also commented on a second pet peeve: unattended children in the mall. "Someone could come along and snatch them up, and then the parent would feel really guilty knowing if they had been watching the child this might not have happened," Inglis said.

For sophomore Megan Anderson, two-faced people really cramp her style. "It really irritates me when people are nice to you at your face and then go and talk about you or someone else behind your back. Eventually it will catch up with them and their true colors will be recognized," Anderson said.

While some pet peeves are stronger than others, there are still several ways to handle dealing with the feelings that sometimes arise in the situation.

Each situation has to be handled carefully and individually. While sometimes it is better to speak up, there are many times that keeping quiet wouldn't hurt either. Holding in anger and annoyance is not healthy for the mind or the soul. Sometimes by carefully approaching the topic, one can bring up their own opinion of the situation. This way, the person discussing the issue will try better to understand other views rather than just their own.

This will not always work of course, but at least it is giving it a try. Trying to calmly talk over things can sometimes save a relationship between roommates. A bloody battle over something that could have been talked through is definitely something to be avoided. Laughing is something else that could help relieve the stress of the annoyance or the sticky situation. A Web site that could help to give an uplifting view on small annoyances is www.petpeeves.com. Here, cartoons and comics are offered for all sorts of pet peeves that could pertain to a personal situation.

If all else fails, try talking to someone else about the problem. Sometimes another person can give a new outlook on how to perceive the situation. A new outlook on the situation is a sometimes a welcomed breath of fresh air in life's toils and triumphs.