Art school inconsequential.

I’ve written about this previously, but sometimes things need reiteration. I have a fair number of pet peeves, and like the pet peeves of all people, they have little foundation in any sort of realistic expectations of how things should be. However, that does not stop me from selfishly wanting things to work the way I want them to. It’s in my nature, and I believe that these unrealistic wants in fact stem directly from one characteristic of my personality. I constantly evaluate my actions and myself – how I affect me, how I affect other people, how I view others who do this, how others may interpret this action – and regulate myself accordingly. Where I have a problem (and start to become exceptionally frustrated and annoyed) is where people refuse to look at themselves and their own behavior.

My last example was of people who are unable to deal with their own lack of proficiency enough to recognize it – or, if they even recognize it, to do something about it, whether it’s making up for their deficiency or by thanking me for helping them. Today, it’s a teenager who refuses to believe that she’s tone-deaf and not an art-school-quality artist of any kind. These people hurt themselves (and, often, others) by not paying attention to themselves and their relationships with the world around them. They rebuff the idea of regulating themselves, turn down every chance to be their best selves, and clash raucously with the reality that they can’t bear to face. Therein is the source of probably everything that annoys me. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that people be aware of themselves, is it?