Another popular phrase that annoys me is “good boy.” Could you please have some respect for people? If someone gets you something you ask for, say, “Thank you,” and not “good boy” or “good girl,” which have the same meaning and disrespect.
— Faouzane, Maya Angelou French Immersion IB School
The phrase “good girl” frustrates me immensely. I work with young kids, and I sometimes see parents or babysitters saying “good girl” if a young girl (or even an older girl) does something that they like. Firstly, I find it a bit odd, as it’s the type of thing I hear people say to their dogs, and I feel like your children should be treated differently than your dog. Secondly, I notice that “good girl” is a lot more common than “good boy,” which I definitely think says something about societal expectations placed on girls to be “good.” Thirdly, I don’t use it myself, because I don’t like placing kids in boxes of “good” and “bad” based on a few things that they do. Instead, if a child that I’m looking after does something well, like putting away their toys after using them, I say, “Nice job!” or “Thank you” to express my appreciation instead, and I wish that more people did the same.
— Ella, Carrboro High School
‘It’s all good’
Hearing “it’s all good” makes me think what I’m doing isn’t a problem, which doesn’t let me fix the behavior, so if it does end up being a problem, it would be much more useful to know. Even though having to communicate through the issue can be awkward, it’s still better than having to eventually explain that it in fact was not “all good,” especially when the problem has at that point become irreversible.
— Mohammed, VSNHS
‘Ight’ or ‘OK’
One popular phrase that most people use that annoys me is the word “Ight” or just the word “ok.” I am a big overthinker when it comes to talking to people or even texting them. Whenever you’re texting your friends or significant other, you can’t see their facial expressions or body languages. It is much harder to tell their tone when texting. There have been multiple instances where I have gotten worried that my friend was mad or upset with me because of the way they were texting. Most of those times, they used the words “Ight” and or “ok” …
I tend to appreciate more when a person takes time out of their day to not send me a dry response and actually put more letters into a word than just keep it abbreviated.
— Amaylee, CPHS, Fayettevile, NC
