Surprisingly, the little things in life are sometimes the most annoying. Although this may seem like a small or insignificant peeve, I am irritated by how many people I see using the blue handicap entrance buttons to walk into a building when they are completely capable of opening the door themselves.

Every time I see this, I angrily ponder just how lazy that person must be that they feel the need to keep their arms to their sides, only lifting one finger to press the big square button. Oh, the effort.

If it’s not already obvious, my position is this: Don’t use it if you don’t need it.

This is especially important to me now, because a person close to me actually needs to use these doors. I can’t help but get somewhat angry at the people who don’t seem to appreciate the healthy body they have.

The point of activated handicap doors is to provide people who need a more accessible means of getting in and out of places. This is not to separate the able-bodied from non-able, but to make the routines of daily life more equal for everybody.

I’m not unreasonable — I’m not saying I’d judge someone for pressing the button outside of their apartment building with 10 heavy bags from Wal-Mart in their hands. I understand that for the non-handicapped, there are some times when using the automatic door is acceptable. Ten bags of groceries are valuable enough that I wouldn’t want to drop them either.

But I’ve pressed the button when I didn’t need it. I’ve used handicap bathrooms when the smaller stalls were available. I’ve walked up handicap ramps when I could have taken the stairs, or used the elevators in Hunter Hall in Mountainview College last year multiple times a day instead of using the stairs.

Lapses are okay; we just seem to completely overdo it. So many people smack the button outside the Old University Union by the buses that the stand that the button is attached to is now unstable and teetering. Overused? You might say so.

And its not even that activating the door really gets you anywhere faster. You still have to wait for them to open far enough to get your body through it anyway.

Bottom line: It’s not usually necessary or efficient. All doors are easy enough to open if you’re able. Whether you’re willing to is the question.

No one is without fault, and never in my life have I believed in perfection. But we can always try to be better and appreciate the great things we have. So maybe next time you have the urge to reach out and press that blue square because your body’s dragging after waking up for your 8:30 a.m. class, resist and be strong, because you can.