Day 18: My Piercings

My piercings are important to me. The represent to me a sense of personal bodily autonomy that I think I needed when I got them and they remind me every day that the only person's opinion about how I look that matters is mine.

Also, they look rad as all heck. Anyway, here's the story of how I got them.

I got my Monroe at a small tattoo studio near my university campus, and the artist who did me was great. Wonderful with first timers, took me through the steps, never had an infection. But I'd actually been waiting to get a lip ring with a friend, and we had a pact from highschool to do it together (we ended up doing it seperately).

So getting tired of waiting for our schedules to line up, I went for my second choice one first. And, boy, did everyone hate it. Well, not everyone, but most people asked why, I think my mom had like this existential moment of her baby boy ruining his face all the while I'm looking at myself like, damn, I look good. Of course, my actual good friends had either no opinion on it or just took a while to get used to my face having this small but noticeable alteration but I think most of them have now known me longer for having these piercings than for not having them. Most folks I meet now ask me if they hurt (girls who had their ears pierced asking me this question never fails to baffle me, like... Did yours hurt?)

The second one I did on a day that highschool friend actually was over and we were going to do it together, only he got food poisoning the night before. He wasn't up to it (much to my dismay, I was so disappointed) but after I walked him to the train and we parted ways, my impatience got the better of me.

I was actually going to Singing In The Rain with my parents that night and when they picked me up there was this cold, quiet anger in the car. Mom pulled me aside and tried the speech again but I think she kind of knew it wouldn't work because here I was, second piercing, and no one could stop me.

I actually haven't gone for a third one but I do want to. I want to get a nose stud but I want to get a tattoo first.

If only I could decide on one.

Anyway, that's the story of that. Just thought I'd share.