It’s allergy season again. That means runny noses and sniffles are in the air. Allergies are common and blowing your nose becomes a necessity when your nose is runny. Yet a fear that so many people share is blowing their nose in class. Most people would agree that when it comes to someone blowing their nose it’s better for everyone if they just get it over with instead of trying to silently sniffle in the back of the classroom. 

Now, we all know that it’s embarrassing to get up in the middle of a silent class and blow your nose. It’s a shared fear that people will judge if you loudly blow your nose. In reality, most people don’t care that much. We make it into a big embarrassing experience in our minds but needing to blow your nose is just as normal as needing to sharpen your pencil (or put new lead in it for those who use mechanical pencils). Everyone is focused on their own lives and most people don’t care or even notice when someone gets up to blow their nose.

As humans, we tend to worry about people judging us for what we do no matter how normal the action might be. It’s just human nature. But it is important to live life without constantly worrying about who might be judging you.

However, some students at LSE think that students should just wipe their nose rather than blow it. They feel that if someone absolutely needs to blow their nose, they should at least do it when everyone is busy, not in the middle of silent work time. Some prefer to go to the hallway to avoid disrupting the class and avoid feeling embarrassed.

Someone blowing their nose in the middle of a quiet class can be disruptive but it’s more bothersome for that person to spend an hour sniffling and suffering. Whether you go into the hall or stay in the classroom, do us all a favor and let it blow.