There are some questions you'd be asked and you just know you can't have a specific answer to that question because of how deeply you can relate to it. There are just particular things I can't stand being done to/around me. The hive-naija community asks for the quickest way to get me pissed off and honestly, I just knew I couldn't list only one thing.
I was talking to a friend sometime ago and I remember telling her how people at my work place said I was too uptight, and took things too seriously. After telling her what had transpired, she asked me if being seen as uptight because I don't like someone doing something to, or around me, was a bad thing? I didn't realize it earlier but I'd rather be seen as an uptight person, and be at peace, than be an overly cheery person that finds herself seething every now and then.
I hate it when people decide that because I smile or laugh a lot with them, they have a right to touch me and have their fingers all around my skin. I remember resuming at work, during my first week, I was talking to this guy and suddenly he grabbed both my cheeks and said 'Your cheeks are just too cute. I want to touch them forever'. Boy, I was appalled, and cringed so hard at the same time. I swatted his hands away and gave him a look that I believe, said 'Try this nonsense again and see what happens next'. He didn't do it again of course but I never forgot that incident.
It irritates me to a fault when people touch me as they please and they give a stupid reason for doing so. We're colleagues, not lovers, don't expect me to interlink my fingers with yours when walking. We're course mates, not friends, don't place your arms over my shoulders when walking, and say it's because of our height difference. I can't stand random people touching me. It gets me very pissed off when people think they have the right to, just because we've spoken two times.
Now, for those people that are fond of giving backhanded compliments and making a show out of correcting, please, keep your words to yourselves around me. Why are you correcting me, and you're tapping someone beside you to see what I did, while laughing at the same time? I hate being subjected to situations like that and I can't stand them, honestly. If you really wanted to correct me, you'd point out my mistakes and tackle them head on. Some of you are just unnecessarily mean and are not worth being kept around honestly. I came across a video a lady posted and in the video, she was like - 'she thought she was poorly dressed for a wedding till she saw the chief bridesmaid'. Why make someone else feel less of themselves, to feed your ego? I'm sorry but if you do that around me, you're a disgusting person and I would definitely run away from you.
Another thing that gets me really angry, is women slander. I get pissed off when people do it in front of me. Now, let me tell about this guy I once met. I met this guy at an event, we had a conversation and we both clicked. He was someone who had indepth knowledge on topics I knew nothing about and I enjoyed being with him. Soon enough, we talked about happenings around us and when he began telling me how all the women around him, were very stupid people, driven by emotions, I knew I had to retrace whatever clicked between us both. He said one day and I quote, 'If I build my own company, I would never employ women. Why? Because women are naturally sluggish'.
I couldn't take it anymore from him at that point, I said goodbye to whatever it was we had and cut off all connections to him. Talks like these rile me up cause what's the logic behind that reasoning? I entered a commercial bus one day and when the bus was loaded completely, we found out that the driver was a woman. The guy next to me, said 'Its a woman that's driving, this bus will not be fast oo'. You guys, I was smiling initially when I saw a woman was the one driving because most of the commercial driving jobs, here in my city have been relegated to men. The smile was wiped off my face, hearing that and I just wanted to get off the bus, away from the man and everything his statement had to say about his mentality.
I hate anything that stands to slander women. I hate anything that intends to diminish a woman's value. I've met so many people whose first impressions of me, have been me warning them to not slander any woman in my presence. I love women and so, I get irritated when someone decides to talk less of a woman just because she did something wrong to then or made a mistake.
I think I took this prompt too personal, seeing as it's now more of a rant than it is, an answer to the initial question. I've actually been coming across people that do these things a lot, lately and this prompt, was an opportunity for me to let it all out. So, thanks for reading and feel free to participate in it.
Images are mine.