Becton students, faculty reveal peculiar habits

Angela Cheung, Staff Writer

Everyone has a strange habit, whether it is biting nails when nervous or singing in the shower when happy. The students and teachers at Becton openly shared some of their idiosyncrasies, which further illustrated that everyone is quirky in his or her own way.

For instance, Senior Taylor Mastbeth frequently taps on her phone when she is very nervous. “I have a thing where whenever I have to speak in front of a class or a crowd, my legs and fingers start to move on their own,” she said. She hopes that one day her habits will stop because she finds them distracting both to herself and to others.

Also, Senior Rebecca Cruz plays with her hair when she is interested in a conversation. “I can’t help it. I do it absent mindedly!” exclaimed Rebecca. She developed this habit all throughout middle school and does not seem to be bothered by it.

“It’s not such a bad habit, but I do want it to stop someday because it will look bad in the future. When you’re in college or at a job interview, you shouldn’t be constantly swirling her hair around your fingers. It looks silly,” she confessed. A useful tip she shared is to play with the hem of your shirt instead of your hair.

Furthermore, English Teacher Mrs. Lonergan expressed her bizarre closet habits. “My closet is color coordinated. When I fold my clothes, they look like a filing cabinet,” said Mrs. Lonergan. She is commonly known to be a neat freak and has a serious obsession with keeping her belongings organized.

Her habits were developed from her mother, who always forced her to keep her closet neat. “Back in the day, when my closet was a mess, my mom would toss my clothes on the floor,” said Mrs. Lonergan.

Although people think her habits are a bit crazy, the English teacher is proud of her neat freak personality. “I like that I am neat. I wish my husband was super neat too,” she said.

Media Specialist Ms. Vaccaro and ESL Teacher Mrs. Gonzo share the same weird habits as their colleague. “My house is crazy organized. When people come over I watch them eat to make sure they don’t leave crumbs,” said Ms. Vaccaro.

She continued to discuss Mrs. Gonzo’s neatness. “You should see her [Mrs. Gonzo] house. Her food platters are so amazing and so organized,” gushed the media specialist. Mrs. Gonzo, who sat beside her, laughed and agreed, explaining that she loves to stack the platters accordingly and decorate her home with them.

To continue, Spanish Teacher Mrs. Sanchez turns extremely red when she is nervous. “My face turns really red and it’s super embarrassing,” she stated. She developed this habit back in college and is still trying to learn how to contain these blushes. “My habit doesn’t seem that bad because it’s very common for everyone. I learned that counting to ten and thinking that you’re alone in a room helps with the redness,” said Mrs. Sanchez.

So next time you act out your odd habit and wonder if anyone is judging, just remember that many people have their own idiosyncrasies to worry about as well.