Dear Peer Pressure:

There’s a girl at my school who thinks she’s “all that” but nobody likes her because she gets annoying. 

She gets in people’s faces and she takes advantage of others. She tries to hang out with the popular girls so she can become popular. She gets mad if you lean back against her desk in class. She butts into people’s conversations. She came up to a group of us talking last week and pushed in and said, “Hey, what are we talking about?” One of my friends said back to her, “We are not talking about anything.” This girl also writes really bad words in another girl’s locker.

What do we do about this very annoying creature walking through our halls at school? 

— Very Annoyed

SR: Sometimes people develop bad habits and aren’t consciously aware of the things they do that negatively affect others.

It might be wise to find someone that person trusts to bring it to his or her attention that he or she is acting like a prig!

Arrogant people tend to believe they are invincible. They are often jealous of others’ relationships and sometimes sabotage the plans of others. By belittling other people, they feel important.

Some teens who choose to behave in an arrogant and annoying manner often become bullies. A novel that sheds light on suggestions to keep teens from being harmed by bullies is titled, “Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman’s Inspirational Story” (by Jodee Blanco, Adams Media Corporation, 2003).

People who are annoying simply need positive role models to assist them in how to overcome their fears and attitudes while learning better methods for enabling them to cooperatively “fit in” with their peers.

Be Resourceful!

JPC: This girl sounds like she’s just looking for attention.

Perhaps, problems in her home life are causing her to feel that she is not getting enough attention at home, and she therefore believes that by acting in this manner she can get more attention at school.

I know this sounds hard, but I would just try not to let her bother you. Remember, you can’t control this girl’s actions, but you do have power over how you respond to them.

No matter what you do, don’t deal with this issue by being mean to this girl; hurting someone’s feelings is never a good way to solve a problem.

By being polite, but detached, you should be able to get through your day without feeling annoyed by her actions.