About four months ago I was on vacation visiting my god sister when she introduced me to her ex-boyfriend and his best friend, who both had ear piercings. The asked me which one I preferred. I looked closely at the one guy's tragus piercing, one I had never been too fond of, and then looked at the other guy's ear. He had the most beautiful, original piercing. It was one I had never seen before. I told him his was the best, then went back to my sister's house to fantasize about having a piercing like that.
At A Glance Author Laura* Contact laura_potato@hotmail.com When It just happened Artist Mark Studio Night Hawk Tattoo Location Guelph Ontario I went on the computer the next day to research this magnificent piercing, and found out it was called a rook. I decided that I would have that piercing no matter how hard it may be. However I had no such luck, as my god parents would not allow me to do it without my parents consent, and they do not speak the same language. So I lived out the rest of the two months with my god family, and when I got home I couldn't wait to tell my parents what I was going to have done.
'NOOOO WAYY!' they said. 'Absolutely no way!' Then they went on talking about how dangerous the infections are, how I can't even look after my room, what a bad idea it was and how I would send the wrong message to guys with a piercing like that. There was just no getting through to them. I just had to give up, but every time I would circle the BME site, I'd look at all the lucky duckys with their rook piercings and get so jealous. But I knew there was nothing I could do.
Fast forward two months. 'Sweetie what do you want for your birthday?'. I thought about it. I had no idea. Then I remember the fabulous rook I had so longed for. My parents miraculously, but reluctantly, agreed, in the condition that I do all my research. I looked all over BME printing anything I came across. The day before I was about to get it done, my friends encouraged me and told me not to be worried. One told me that guys (or really strong girls) are better at piercing cartilage because they push the needle through in one motion rather than stopping in the middle and adding more force. That's the reason I chose my piercing place over other ones.
So in two weeks, there I was, at Night Hawk Tattoo, a reputable place I had heard great things about, ready to get my rook pierced. The place looked great. I waited in the lobby while a guy was getting him eyebrow pierced. I saw funny pictures of old ladies flipping me off, and there was a couch to sit and watch MTV on. We looked through some tattoo art books, and then it was finally my time.
When the man came out, he introduced himself as Mark. He was an awesome guy, with multiple piercings and tattoos himself. I would really recommend getting him to pierce you. He relaxes you completely.
Mark took me into his little room. I felt so at ease in the bright blue room with little Hello Kitty figurines and Bart Simpson dolls everywhere. He sat me down in a chair and my mom came in with me. I asked if I could watch and he handed me a mirror. First, he slid the ring along my rook and told me to say stop when I thought it looked nice. Turns out I have an excellent rook for piercing, as he said. He marked the spot, rubbed a little cleaner on it, told me to breath and stuck the needle in. Oh boy did it burn. My ear was incredibly hot while he attached the earring and pulled the needle back through. He then put on something cold with a Q-tip. I told him I liked that part best and he said it was his favourite part of piercing. When I left, he handed me the aftercare booklet and said when I want to change it, I should talk to him to see if it's ready, but no sooner than three months.
So it's been about three days, and I still can't believe I actually did it. All my friends are super impressed. Some of them will ask me if I hurt and I'll either say 'like a b*tch or 'not at all'. The reason for that is I know my friends pain tolerance. I have a generally high pain tolerance, so what didn't hurt me will definitely hurt my friend Michelle. It's all personal, so I can't really tell you if it will hurt alot or a little.
I've been using the sea salt astringent twice a day and things are looking good. Unfortunately, my sleeping ear is different than my phone ear so I'm trying to get used to dialling with my left hand. I couldn't be happier with my rook. It looks so original and different from the average lobe and cartilage I see all the time. I really hope I don't get into a piercing fetish, but I can think of many more I would like to experiment with...