It is a simple gesture that encompasses our everyday lives.

The kiss has multiple uses in our lives, whether it is used for comfort, expression of emotion or a simple greeting. But for all the good a kiss can mean, it can do just as much harm.

“Like when you make out with someone’s boyfriend,” junior liberal studies major Melody Mata said.

Then, that same gesture can make our boo-boos all better.

In film we see it used for both good and evil. In mafia films, we see some mobsters give “the kiss of death” by receiving a kiss on the lips from the Don. In the case of Batman’s Poison Ivy, she uses it as a deadly weapon. One kiss kills her victims instantaneously.

On the other end, a kiss is just what every happy ending calls for in a romantic comedy. Disney goes as far as a “kiss of life.” In both “Sleeping Beauty” and “Snow White,” a simple kiss from their Prince Charmings brings them to life and breaks all evil spells.

So how is it that a kiss is so powerful?

The answer lies in vulnerability. When we kiss someone we have to let that person know something about ourselves. We don’t just let that person in emotionally; we let them in physically as well. When people kiss, they break the borders of the personal bubble. Nothing can be more uncomfortable than when a person invades our personal space, especially when that person can smell our breath.

“It all depends on who you are kissing,” junior liberal studies major Merideth Ragland said.

This is key, because the more we admire someone the more we want to impress.

It is important how a person kisses.

“A huge amount of the brain is devoted to picking up information from the lips and tongue,” Rutgers University anthropologist Helen Fisher said in a February Washington Post article.

She continues to explain that you will feel even the slightest brush of a feather on your lips instantaneously.

So, when you kiss someone you are being told a lot by every shiver in the person’s lips.

“When kissing, you let someone know one more thing about you,” Ragland said.

How a person kisses will reveal if he or she is passionate or bland, exciting or boring, and even if they are potential mates.

Recently, I found myself kissing a girl at a party. The second I had kissed her, all other thoughts in my head disappeared. All I could think about was how to get out of this situation. Granted, there was alcohol involved. The kiss was as dull as her personality.

Alcohol or not, it’s important to be a good kisser. However, there is no standard for this, because everyone likes something different. Some hate biting, while others can’t get enough. Some love to French kiss, and others not so much.

This only shows that kissing someone is a gamble. We build an idea of what kind of kisser our date may be based on similarities in personality, likes and interests. But when it comes down to it, the kiss is in the lips.

So, if you don’t know what kind of kisser you are, then call a friend and have a make out party, or you can hit me up (refer to cute mug shot).

Mikhail Chernyavsky can be reached at [email protected]