Prisha Khimavat

This is a part of a writing challenge. Read more about it here.

Yes, you read that right. The word for today is booger.

According to KidsHealth:

“When you breathe in air through your nose, it contains lots of tiny things, like dust, dirt, germs, and pollen. If these made it all the way to the lungs, the lungs could get irritated or infected, making it tough to breathe. Luckily, snot helps trap this stuff, keeping it in the nose and out of the lungs.

After this stuff gets stuck inside the nose, the mucus surrounds it and some of the tiny hairs inside the nose called cilia (say: SIL-ee-uh). These hairs help move the mucus and the trapped stuff toward the front of the nose or the back of the throat. When the mucus, dirt, and other debris get dry and clump together, you’re left with a booger.”

So, it sounds like to me that boogers are things that have a weird and gross reputation but are in fact extremely beneficial. I’m not saying they aren’t gross, just that they have a purpose.

This got me thinking, there are so many things that have negative reputations or connotations that are in actuality extremely important and beneficial. For instance, homework, tests, school. Wow, obviously school is on my mind a lot right now. But aside from that, another example that I’ve really been coming back to is tough conversations.

Let me explain what I mean by tough conversations. These are the conversations you have when someone may have upset you, or when someone has been wronged or even when someone may be doing something that is harmful to them or others. Essentially, it’s any conversation that is unpleasant at the time but in the long run beneficial for an individual or a relationship.

There have been many times in my life when close friends have sat me down and told me things that I did not want to hear. I am an extremely non-confrontational person, so I hate having these difficult conversations. In fact, when those subjects are initially brought up, I often react in anger or frustrations. But a majority of the time, when I take some time away and think about it, more often than not, I realize that those topics were important to discuss and that in the long run, those people meant the best, and vice versa when I’ve had to be the one to bring things up.

When you think about it, discussing those taboo topics is actually an investment and a sign of interest in the person or relationship. In general, these conversations are unpleasant for everyone involved, however, much like the dust or dirt that enters our nose, it could cause further damage if not taken care of/discussed.

I know that this is a weird correlation, but just bear with me.

The threat of “dust, dirt, germs, and pollen” is similar to the threat that may be affecting an individual or a relationship. When the threat gets stuck in the nasal mucus, that could perhaps be compared to the realization by one party that a threat is present. Then, the mucus and hairs surrounding the threat are not unlike the initiation of the tough conversation, and finally, the being left with a booger reminds me of the unpleasant feeling of a difficult conversation. It’s gross and (for a lack of a better word) a yucky feeling. We don’t like it, and it’s at time frustrating when you can’t get rid of it, or it may hinder breathing/the relationship functioning for a while. But when you stop and think about the implications and consequences of what the threat could have done, you realize that its really for the better.

If something is creating a threat or harming you or a friend or relationship you care about, don’t let the threat get to their lungs. Surround the threat with your affection for that person and create those boogers. Then talk things through, come to a mutual conclusion and then move on. In essence, squish the topic through discussion, roll it into a ball through a mutual conclusion and lastly, flick it off and move on.

I know that this was a really weird way of phrasing this, but truly I encourage you to have those tough conversations because I’ve truly always appreciated people looking out for me, and for keeping the dirt from getting to my lungs.

So, heres to making boogers and then squishing it, rolling it and flicking it.

~Prisha Khimavat~

Duration: 42 minutes (It took a lot of brainstorming to get here.)