It is said that once a person repeats an action thirty times, it becomes a habit and something one does unconsciously. We all have habits whether it be chewing on a pencil like one third grader, or reading for too long before bedtime like one fourth grader said. Either way, good or bad, habits can get annoying. The worst part about this, of course, is the habit is usually more annoying to those around us than to ourselves.

Habits also come in many shapes, sizes, forms and levels of annoyance. Most sneak up on you and catch you when you least expect it! While you think you may be diligently getting your homework done, your habit has taken over your mind and body. You don’t even realize you’re twirling your hair around your finger to the point where a strand is sticking straight out, giving you (and your classmates) a bad hair day to remember.

Ranging from twirling hair, chewing gum, watching too much TV and video games, and chewing nails, these students have shared some of their annoying, yet remarkable, habits.

Elizabeth Bass
age 10, grade 5
Loyola Catholic
My worst bad habit is not getting my school work and chores done on time. My mother has to always bug me to make sure I get it all done. I normally don’t do my chores and homework before I go out and play with my neighbor friends. That is all changing now because my parents won’t allow me to play until they have looked at my assignment notebook from school and made sure I have picked up what I am supposed to. I am hoping to change my bad habit by Halloween time.

Tyler Gustafson
age 13, grade 7
Madelia
My worst habit is eating sweets. The reason why it’s so hard to break is because of sugar.

Think about this. You walk into a grocery store or gas station and what does everyone have? Candy bars. Basically any store with food has candy bars. Next, you have brownies. Basically every sporting event’s concessions have brownies. Then, in grocery stores, there are aisles that have tons of different kinds of brownies. Then there’s ice cream to go with brownies. And then any store with food has ice cream because everybody likes ice cream. And ice cream comes in tons of good flavors. Then pie goes with ice cream and you have ice cream socials and pie sales. Next comes fudge, which is good year-round because it’s chocolate. Finally, there are cookies. They are the best part. Where can’t you find cookies? They’re everywhere. Every restaurant you go to, they ask, “Would you like dessert?” at the end so you say “Yes.”

Oscar Garcia
age 13, grade 7
Good Shepherd Lutheran
My worst habit of all for me is I can’t stop moving. I can’t stay still for a while. I always want to run around. But I figured out a way to quit by just shaking my foot.

Leanna Matzke
age 10, grade 5
Immanuel Lutheran
My worst habit is getting dirty. If I wanted to stop it, I would have to not go outside because I live on a farm and there tends to be dirt and mud. And that is where I usually go on the farm. It just rained so that means more mud outside. So now I definitely can’t go outside for a week.

Gabrielle Robinson
age 10, grade 4
Le Center Elementary
My dad has a bad habit of chewing tabacco. He gets angry if he doesn’t have any. It is a bad habit because he can’t stop using it.

Isaac Lager
age 12, grade 7
St. Peter Lutheran
My bad is that I like to draw. During school I always draw once my work is done, and it makes the day go by faster. But, my parents think that I rush through everything so that I can draw, even though I don’t. I guess it would be easy to say I draw too much or draw a lot, but I do it because it’s fun. I have been trying to break the habit by reading, or working ahead in schoool work, but it isn’t working out that well. I ended up being able to stop drawing altogether for about...two or three days.

Ethan Schultz
age 13, grade 7
Grace Christian
My worst bad habit makes people disgusted. Some people get angry. It can annoy people out of their minds. I’m telling you the truth. My siblings beat me. They claw and scratch and bite. It makes my parents angry when I do it watching TV. Sometimes they can even ground me for just doing one thing. They come unleashed like an angry dog when I do it at the dinner table. My worst bad habit is ... wait, I’m not done yet. They go completely insane when my brothers do it, too. I may not know it when I’m doing it, but they definitely will; they notice everything. You have probably already guessed, but I will tell you anyway. My worst bad habit is picking my nose.

Spencer Urban
age 9, grade 4
Maple River West
My worst habit is playing too many video games. One time I played from 1 to 4 without stopping. It is so hard to break because the games I play are hard and fun. I am trying to read more to maybe break my habit.

Jacob Helmstetter
age 13, grade 8
Martin County West
You see it in sports, on TV, pretty much anywhere it can happen. It’s bragging and everyone does it. I don’t know a single person that doesn’t. Bragging, boasting or whatever you want to call it, they all have the same meaning.

If you get into the habit of bragging, it can be hard to stop, so the best thing to do is never to do it. Much easier said than done, right? Most people who brag too often are those who are good at a lot of things, or they just like to talk a lot about themselves, or both. And most people do not even realize they are doing it. So, if they are bothering you from bragging, tell them to please stop. And recognize the word “please.” It can be a savior from hurting someone’s feelings, especially when used with a calm and caring voice.

Sometimes bragging can make you feel better about yourself, but, at the expense of hurting someone’s feelings. Not every time, but, it can be a misinterpretation that you are trying to make fun of them. Most people do not want to make fun, or cause any type of pain to the other person. So, don’t brag. It’s as simple as that.