Day 3: My top 3 pet peeves

Making a list of my top 3 pet peeves sounded like I had nothing better to do but get angry at the small stuff. Apparently, there’s little that frustrates me, at least from what I know. So here’s my only three pet peeves that I could come up with:

Small grammar mistakes

It’s paramount to me as a journalist to catch ALL my grammar mistakes. I try to edit them out as soon as I catch them, or when someone kind points them out (thanks, dear Araceli 😊). What really frustrates me though is when I see these mistakes in someone else’s old writing, writing that’s a couple of months or even years old. When I see authors leave these mistakes in after they’ve been kindly pointed to them, to me it shows their ignorance and unwillingness to improve at what they set out to do, which is to write. Shame on you.

Slow people

I’ve been told that I’m a fast walker, so it’s natural that I glide through the school’s hallways and grocery stores in a hurry. Even when I’m on the road, I get angry at people who drive 5–10kms/hr under the speed limit, especially if the speed limit is 40kms/hr. Like, do you not have anywhere to be? Walking fast and driving safely fast is a thing I do; it’s my jam, my groove. And if you throw off my groove, I will kick you out the window.

Calling it “The Ukraine”

When you call my country “the Ukraine”, you’re telling me that you think Ukraine is a small region of a bigger country. Conversely, if you do know that Ukraine is not a part of the Soviet Union anymore but still choose to call it “the Ukraine”, you’re telling me that you think Ukraine is unworthy of being independent. I expect it from folks on the streets, but not from educators or history enthusiasts. Please don’t decrease the value of your intelligence by placing “the” in front of Ukraine.