Sitting on Muni, no, actually sardine squished sitting on Muni..with one clogged nostril. Everyone is leaving school and wants to get home to their Netflix shows and pizza rolls, whilst suctioned to their phones and simultaneously gossiping with their friend with the septum piercing. The air is thick and warm, I feel like I’m breathing in everyone’s tiered aching bodies as they press up against one another. There isn’t much room, so we all do our best to stay in our imaginary confined box where our legs aren’t spread too wide but we have just enough room for backpacks or our Trader Joe’s bag.

Anyways, I have one clogged nostril, which isn’t anything new. I have what’s called a deviated septum, so I get more air flow through one nostril while the other is basically filled with cement, and today I have the beginning stages of a cold so my already cemented nostril is even worse. But as I’m sitting here sharing this tight space with my fellow Muni riders, I’ve realized that some of them must have clogged nostrils too. Or maybe if not their nostrils, maybe their head.. or maybe they have a clogged sink at home? Maybe some of them have writers block and can’t write their essay that’s due tomorrow, that’s kind of like being clogged right? Maybe one person in here is stuck on deciding whether or not to make a huge change in their life and their fear is blocking them from achieving their goals.

One thing I know for sure, is that my right nostril is blocking any oxygen to my lungs. This started to really aggravate me as I was desperately trying to find some fresh air wedged in between my fellow bus riders and their warm achy body smell. But as it turns out, my nostril being clogged is just a metaphor for life, and like life I will deal with it. I mean hey, at least my left nostril is working, right? And then I see the person next to me who is confined to a wheel chair, and realize they are in a way blocked from living their life to the fullest due to their inability to walk. However, here they are on the bus headed toward the Golden Gate Bridge, enjoying life despite their challenges.

Nobody likes a clogged nostril, but today I have found a new appreciation for this silly problem and realized that there are so many worse problems to have. Man, what a blessing it is to only have one clogged nostril.

Until next time,