by Hannah Con

Created on: August 14, 2008

For girls, it is the dirty, never talked about secret that everyone participates in but no one likes to talk about. Yes ladies (and sorry men) I am referring to trimming our nose hair. It's one dirty job, but someone has to do it.

I first noticed mine the week before I left for college. Riding around in my best friend's Honda on those last few nights of summer I casually glanced up into the rear view mirror. To my horror, a few nose hairs had eased their way into the limelight. It was one of those moments that everyone talks about, where you come to a sudden realization. I could honestly not believe that I had never noticed them before. Immediately, like everyone else, I began to run through all the situations in my head where my nose hairs could have potentially embarrassed me. There was that job interview I had at Burger King the month before... but honestly, nose hair was the least of their worries. Anyway, like any self-respecting teenager I decided to put it off until later- until I really felt like dealing with.

But the week came and went and before I knew it I had already set foot on my college campus. I had the new clothes the magazines told me to wear and the "spending money" from my college account was burning a hole in my pocket. After making myself at home (stocking the mini-fridge with diet coke) I decided to walk around my dorm to try to memorize all the new faces and to make a desperate attempt to remember the way back to my own room. After passing by several people, two of which were smoking a substance only deemed normal in a residence hall I tried to take poor stab at socialization by asking a girl in the hallway what she was majoring in. Her response was a mixture of slight discomfort with her grand finale of ignoring my question all together and walking away.

I was at a loss for words and more importantly, my ego had been severely bruised. So I did what anyone would do in that situation- I ran into the bathroom. I began to splash water on my face and was about to start the mental pep talk I had prepared for myself when I gazed up into the mirror and saw what the real problem was. Those nose hairs that I had so carelessly forgotten about were the culprit. A mixture of relief and embarrassment flooded me at once. I quickly took care of the problem and exited the bathroom a changed woman.

So here is a note to all readers: your parents prepare you for many things in life. But learning how to trim your nose hair is not one of them.

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