▢  The thorn/splinter was close to the surface; it could almost taste the air. I simply put a piece of duct tape on it and ripped it off as quickly as possible. Almost like ripping a plaster off a wound; slowly at first, but then extremely fast.

▢  The thorn/splinter was not very painful. I made a simple paste by mixing baking soda and water (3 parts baking soda, 1 part water). I covered the area that the splinter/thorn was lodged under with the paste. I then covered that area with a plaster for 24 hours. After 24 hours had passed, I simply ripped the plaster off and the splinter/thorn came out easily. No hassle at all.

▢  The thorn/splinter was rather painful. Nature, however, provides all the cures and solutions to all our problems. I simply put a banana peel on the area that was affected (a potato slice can also be used). I taped the peel to the area using duct tape. After letting it sit like that overnight (while I was sleeping), I removed the tape and the peel. The splinter/thorn had surfaced; I simply had to use tweezers to pull it out completely. This works because the enzymes in the peel help soften the skin and allow the thorn/splinter to reach the surface of the skin easily.

▢  The thorn/splinter had been lodged under my skin for a few days. I tried using tweezers, but I seemed to be pushing it even further below the surface, by doing that. I tried using natural remedies and taking advice from other people; they said I should "try harder" and I should "just stop feeling the pain caused by the thorn." Nothing worked. I grew tired of trying and failing. I grew tired of failing and seeing how disappointed everyone else was that I failed. They all removed their thorns/splinters. Why couldn't I just remove mine? I grew tired of being weird, of being the strange kid that had a thorn stuck in their finger. So, I just pretended that I had removed my thorn, too. Initially, it was fine. I even forgot about the thorn. Then the pain returned. Twice as painful as the first time I had noticed the thorn. I didn't know what to do. I grabbed tweezers and started hacking away at my fingers. Only skin and blood came out; I couldn't see the thorn anymore. Somehow, I could still feel the pain. The pain became unbearable. My entire hand started stinging all the time. I couldn't locate the thorn, but my entire hand turned shades of blue and purple. My hands became numb. I couldn't hold a pen anymore. Or type on my phone or computer. I couldn't even clasp my hands together in prayer. They say I may have to cut the hand off. Completely. Then they'll all see that I lied. They'll see that I couldn't remove my thorn. They'll see that I tried. They'll see that I failed.

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