"How do those nails taste like?" Asked my grade school teacher out of the blue. She must have spotted one of my classmates biting their nails. She paused from the lesson at hand.
"Self confidence is very important. That's how people would take you seriously. Even when you are not self-confident, you can fake it. Nail biting betrays lack of self-esteem. So don't do it." She was forceful. She paused and went back to the lessons. Didn't give it much thought then. I personally knew no one with this habit.
Those were the days... Today, it seems I see and hear more and more people biting their nails. Too many that it's almost like a norm. Some even announces it quite proudly that it almost sounds fashionable. I quickly clench my fist and gently tap my lips with it as I catch myself putting my nails on my mouth. Being exposed to many who bite their nails is making me unconsciously 'follow their example.'
Is there really something wrong with the habit?