This is the story of my first and only DIY piercing, and the first piercing to change the way I felt about myself.
At A Glance Author Katie Contact sixfthare20@hotmail.com When A year ago Artist myself Before this, I had only my lobes and navel pierced. But now, I was craving something that had more meaning in it, not what was done purely for the urge to be hip and cool. I'd been searching for piercings on BME and had fallen in love with the tragus and rook, and a few surface piercings. But, in the meantime, I wanted something that was special to me. After reading some stories, and I decided that I wanted to do something myself. Of course, the only thing I trusted my un-experienced self with was my earlobe, so that's what I settled on. A second lobe piercing on my left ear.
I dropped my idea by a few of my friends. They all said that I wouldn't be able to do it, and that I couldn't take the pain. They meant it, though not in a mean way, but I still wanted to prove them wrong-as silly as it may sound. When I mentioned it to my boyfriend, he said that he thought I'd be able to, but there was no point in it really. This drove me on further. But compared to my own desire, my friends' opinions had little to do with my decision.
It was about 2am when I had finalized my plan, and both of my parents were asleep. I distinctly remembered my mother telling me when I was younger, that if I were to ever pierce something without her permission, or pierce it herself...she would kill me. But, I wanted to do it right then, so I didn't wait. I had a feeling of strength at that moment that I didn't want to wait for another day to discuss it with my mother. So, (after putting up my away message on my computer) I went upstairs to my bathroom to go on with it.
I had no needles, no professional equipment, nothing of the sort. But, I did have a piercing stud (I realize that this is dangerous, and am in no way trying to promote it. So basically, DIY stuff is NOT the best idea) and this was what I elected to use. I put ice over my ear, not sure if this would help any, but figuring it could do no harm. I cleaned the stud as best I could with the alcohol I had, and went back into my room in front of my mirror. To reflect my own mood, I turned on Weezer's Across the Sea ,which is a song I've always loved, and positioned the stud on my ear.
I pushed hard, but it took about a full minute for it go completely through my ear, all the while pain was aching through my ear. After it was finished, and I had wiped off the small amount of blood, I took a step back to examine my new hole. But, upon inspection, I saw that it was too low for my liking. Not liking the idea of redoing it right away, I got back on my computer to tell a select friend how the process had gone. He encouraged me, and reassured that if I needed to do it again, I could.
I returned to my room, removed the earring, and began again. I cleaned everything off, turned my song back on, and started pushing it through my ear again (this time making sure of my placement). The earring went completely through the flesh as "Words and dreams and a million screams" drifted from my speakers. And it was done. My ear flared up bright red, and a few drops dribbled out. I could feel a considerable amount of heat around the left side of my head, so I held an ice pack to it went back to my computer. I told my friend I'd finished it again, and he congratulated me, but there was no reward to compare to my feeling at the moment.
I started out covering the piercing with a small band-aid, but after about a week I got sick of that and just let my mother discover it on her own. At first she was a bit shocked and angry, and asked me why I hadn't waited and asked her to get it pierced. I didn't think I'd be able to explain the real reason, so I just said "Well, you were asleep". She actually thought that was funny, and she just let it go.
My feelings that this small piece of metal was credited with are unexplainable. Part of me felt empowered and independent because I was able to accomplish this (however small it may seem) task completely on my own. It also made me feel stronger for having gone through the pain, which I had given myself, and I felt like it re-asserted that I was alive. But these words don't really contain my feelings. None could, as I'm sure is the way countless people feel about their own modifications. But this was my own, and I'm glad no one can take that away from me.