Originally published  January  25, 2022.

   You know what grinds my gears!? Middle school relationships. They are SO stupid. 

   Every single year there is always that one  couple who makes sure to let EVERYONE know that they’re dating. Keep in mind they break up and get back together EVERY OTHER WEEK. 

   Oh and don’t even get me started on kids that hold hands while walking from class to class. Like c'mon now have some independence. It’s not like their hand is gonna fall off if you don’t hold it every second of your life!  

   Also,  there is no need  to put each other's name in EVERY SINGLE one of your social media bios. Nobody cares if so and so “has your heart.” The relationships never last, and they’re SO cringey. 

   Hey, no hate if you are one of those kids but I recommend checking out the last paragraph on page 10 of the MBMS student handbook. 

   And THAT is what grinds my gears!

   You know what grinds my gears!? Netflix Rom Coms.

   And no, not just regular rom coms, although those are atrocious as well; NETFLIX casts like 30 year old men for a 15 year old adolescent! Actually, a lot of different movies do that as well, BUT Netflix has the same basic storyline every time, with the same fundamentals! 

   The people at Netflix  somehow always make the same bad movie, and  every time they tackle this it’s still dreadful!

   I would rather look at the Sun long enough to have the outcome of which my vision is worse., instead of having to sit through an hour and 30 minutes of torture. At least I would never have to see a movie like this again.

   Netflix really said, “How about an innocent girl, and a popular and  cool  boy; hear me out, who have a toxic relationship, and end up together after him betraying her, or some other bump along the way.”

   Also, they just recast the same guy, for like every other movie. I’m looking at you Noah Centineo. 

   Maybe if the storylines were better, and there wasn’t a grown man as the main male character, these wouldn’t be as bad as they are. I wish to never see one again. Please, I wish to never have my eyes open to that mistreatment once more.

      And THAT is what grinds my gears!

  You know what grinds my gears!?  Cliffhangers.

   I absolutely despise cliffhangers in every way, shape, and form. It is totally cruel for the 3-word phrase, “to be continued…” to pop up on the TV screen disrupting my favorite movie or series.

   I have zero patience when it comes to waiting for another season or movie to come out. I usually just resort to making up an imaginary ending to the story in my head, in the meantime. In most cases, I become disappointed after I see the actual ending because my conclusion was a million times better. 

   The filmmakers or authors NEED to let us know in advance that there is a sequel coming out to make the story come to a complete close, so I don’t have to sit in deep dark despair as I wonder if there is going to even be a part two. 

   As soon as that evil message pops up that the movie has finished or that the show has no more episodes left, I am simply ready to go film my own finale to the series, just to satisfy my own happiness. 

   And THAT is what grinds my gears!

   You know what grinds my gears!? Groundhog Day. I think it is absolutely stupid. What could make you think that a 136-year-old  groundhog could know if spring is coming early or not? 

   If a groundhog could do it I could. They should let me go outside and I'll tell you guys if I see my shadow. Don't you think that is weird?  It might be an old tradition but, it needs to go. 

   I don't even get why they chose a groundhog. Out of all the animals they chose a groundhog. I would have been fine if they chose a pig but a GROUNDHOG. I guess we are just hiring animals to do stuff for us. Wouldn't it be just great if you had a rodent in your classroom and predict when the last day of school is? NO!!! Just go off the calendar. 

   This tradition has been going on since 1887 and it is still going. Traditions need to stop sometimes because eventually people get tired of it and I am tired of it. 

   And THAT is what grinds my gears!

   Every year I dread this “holiday”. Do you know how many sappy love songs I hear on the radio every time I turn it on Valentine’s Day?

   Like SEVEN  in the past half hour!

   Sometimes I just wish I could rip out my ears, but who needs to when they’re already bleeding because they said the word love 83 times in the song.

   WHY IS THIS EVEN A HOLIDAY!?!?

   I’m one of the several people spending this Valentine’s Day alone, and I hope I get to forever, ‘cause the moment I get a stupid bouquet of flowers with some sort of dumb love proclamation, I’M MOVING!!!

  Does anybody even know the origin of Valentine’s Day!?!  Do you want me to tell you?

   A man named Valentine was executed on Feb. 14.

   Love is in the air, more like BLOOD is in the air!!!

   Good thing this guy was a martyr, otherwise, none of us would be able to use this day as an excuse to buy large amounts of candy the day after.

   I’m disgusted with myself to see how many times I typed Valentine’s!

   And THAT is what grinds my gears!

   You know what grinds my gears!? IXL.  

   What’s worse than when you are thriving on a certain subject and getting all of the questions right, only to be knocked right down because you added an extra space in your response box? Allow me to answer that. Nothing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t want to learn anything. It’s that I don’t want to have the urge to throw something across the room in frustration. 

   I just don't understand why IXL has the need to bump us down from 82 to 64 if we get ONE question wrong. ONE. Some of the errors aren’t even correct. So in total time, it takes me HOURS just to finish a few lessons. Most of the time, it takes me longer to do than all my other homework. At this point I understand the entire concept, I just need to get the IXL lesson completed. 

   But you know at least you get the little prize things after certain checkpoints! Oh yeah, they do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Personally, I think that IXL should be updated. It’s been around for a while, yet is still incredibly aggravating. 

   And THAT is what grinds my gears!

   You know what grinds my gears? Rom-coms. 

   Now, love is great, but I cannot stand another quirky meet-cute forces two people into a situation in which they fall for each other. 

  One of my biggest gripes with rom-coms is when a character is overly persistent in the pursuit of love, but more importantly, the film  attempts to poke fun at EXTREMELY concerning things.

   Now tell me, is flying across the country and showing up at someone’s doorstep unannounced to declare your feelings to someone an unhinged violation of privacy or a brave and vulnerable display of love?

   Is it reasonable to teach yourself enough French to pass as a tutor just so you can spend some time with the girl you like while also paying a guy to go out with her sister?

   The more deep-set problem with this trope is that the person who oversteps boundaries never receives any type of consequences.

   In fact, a 28-year-old man in California was actually arrested for engaging in the type of stalker behavior that is frequent in rom-coms. If that isn’t a telltale sign, I don’t know what is. 

   And THAT is what grinds my gears.