Once, I went to a parents’ meeting.

It was the first time I’d met my child’s homeroom teacher.
Her profile picture looked pretty.
She was a Muslim female teacher,
but the more open-minded kind.
She only wore a headscarf.
Her nose and below weren’t wrapped.
Her outfit wasn’t all black from head to toe.
She wore headscarves and clothes of various colors (mostly light, muted tones).
Because we needed to face each other up close to consult about questions,
the desks were spaced about 20 centimeters apart.
I looked up—
and my big discovery was that she had “nose hair”
showing, and it was sticking out long.
It didn’t look very comfortable.
I kept thinking: in a setting like this,
with so many parents and students,
why wouldn’t she just trim the “nose hair” a bit?
As people get older
or if they have rhinitis,
nose hair needs to be trimmed regularly.
A man’s facial hair might be able to cover it up.
But a woman has to pay close attention.
Remember to trim it,
before going out.
And most importantly: never pluck your nose hair.
Therefore,
I never wanted to attend that teacher’s parents’ meeting again—
there’s been a lingering shadow in my mind ever since.