In my opinion, one of the biggest annoyances in the world is the over-achievers in gym class. I am pretty sure everyone who has ever had to participate in a middle, high, or even elementary school gym class knows exactly what I am talking about. I am talking about those people who have to catch every ball, run every lap possible on the pacer, and even act a little feisty towards you if you are on the opposing team. I just do not understand why they are so competitive. It is not the NBA or the NFL; the winning team does not get any type of reward, either. So what is the big deal? Maybe what I really do not like is that they make everyone else look like they are a lump on a log, like they are not trying at all. For example, one day way back in elementary school, we were playing kickball in gym class. One of the players from the other team was kicking, and everyone knew that he was pretty much a professional kickball player, if that even exists, so of course everyone on my team in the outfield backed up. The pitcher was getting ready to roll the ball. It left his hands, glided onto the floor, and made contact with the inside of the kicker’s foot. The ball sailed through the air, and I realized it was coming right towards me. Now I have danced for most of my life, but I have never enjoyed any sports with a ball. In my head I was telling myself to keep my eyes on the ball and my arms out. I was also fighting the instinct to duck and run. Finally the ball was literally two feet away from me in the air, and I took a couple of steps to reach the ball, and BAM I fell to the floor. I bet you can guess why I fell. One of the over-achieving boys on my team decided it would be a good idea to run towards me to catch the ball, but he ended up tripping me when I took those couple of steps toward the air-bound ball. Now, this painful and embarrassing event would not have occurred if this boy had not felt the selfish desire to show off and overachieve. These people might be perfectly good, maybe even likable, people outside of gym, but during this one-and-a-half-hour block of the day, I cannot stand them.
Another pet peeve of mine is when people act like they know everything there is to know, and they are experts on whatever they are talking about. Now, unfortunately, this is just as common as the pet peeve I talked about above, and just as annoying. It’s hard to describe, but it is the tone of the know-it-all’s voice that irritates me to no end. To me, they have a superiority complex that shows in their voice, and they want everyone to know that they are better and smarter than they are. One example of an annoying know-it-all occurred on Valentine’s Day. I was in history class, and I will not name names, but one of my friends was having me quiz her on material for a health test she was going to take the next block. She asked me what one of the answers to the questions was because she could not think of it, and I was in the middle of responding, right in the middle of my sentence, actually, when another student cuts me off and finishes answering the question. The student not only intruded into our conversation, but she talked in the tone of a know-it-all’s voice that makes me cringe. On top of her talking like a know-it-all, I was answering the question for my friend correctly, and this student just comes over and acts as though I am stupid and do not know what I am talking about! Unfortunately, this specific pet peeve of mine occurs quite often, and I have no way to control someone else’s voice or attitude. Of course I have several other pet peeves, just like everyone else, but those are the two that have been bugging me the most.