I recently went away for a month to Madagascar, with a team of people from my school. We trekked around the South of the country, travelling in big trucks and drinking in the culture and beauty of the place - it was amazing. I loved it.
At A Glance Author Katalyst Contact Katalyst@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Andy Studio Gifted Buddha Location Hertfordshire, England Maybe a month isn't too long, but I found that I was quite out of touch when I got back. I didn't want use my mobile, or talk to my friends, or go back to work. I felt really disconnected. I suppose this was natural, because I'd spent a month within an enclosed group of people with no contact to anyone outside that group. I hadn't spoken to or had any contact with any of my friends, and in the whole time I had phoned my mum once and spoken to her for about two minutes (international phone cards are expensive). So, yeah, it was funny coming home.
My family travels a lot, but I had never come home feeling like this. I had this sense of just not being happy with England, although it is my home and nowhere else I've been do I get the feeling of belonging like I do here. I walked into town, and I missed the friendliness of the people in Madagascar, and the colour of the earth, and how beautiful it is to wander through. It made me sad that people avoided my eye contact.
Before I went away, I'd made a 'bargain' with my mum, that if I waited until after I came back, I could have my ear pierced again. She doesn't really like piercings, and I can't really explain why I want them to her. I was toying with a few ideas before I went (a new cartilage piercing next to the first, transverse lobes, and one I can't quite describe). I showed my mum a picture of the transverse lobes, and she thought they were really odd. So I abandoned that idea for now - I didn't want something that she would really hate.
I'd gone off the idea of the second cartilage piercing for the moment, so was looking for a different idea, whatever grabbed me. I'd surfed around BME a day or so after I got back, because I knew that I wanted the new piercing soon. It generally puts me off when a piercing is really popular, and I try to go for the more unusual ones. I'm not sure why it matters so much, but it depresses me if everyone has the same as me, although I still think they look great. I suppose that can't be helped in some cases though!
Anyhoo, I discovered (or re-discovered) the snug piercing. I can't remember if it appealed to me before or not, but as I was studying my ears, I thought how nice the curve of it was, and how pretty a couple of snug piercings would look. And there we go; that's what I wanted from then on.
I associate each of my piercings with a different story or way I was feeling. They were all done for a reason, be it good or bad. This time it was a way of distancing myself from the world, but also bringing myself back to it. As I'd been away, I'd been on the edge of my group and though I loved the experience, tempers rode high and I'd often felt like my least desirable traits were really exposed, and exploited, which I had hated. I've gained so much from being away, but I also felt very distant from the person that I was before, and the piercings were kind of reaffirming who I am. Maybe that sounds strange, but I wanted something to get me back to myself - I wanted this.
Since I've come back I've been much more grateful for my friends and family, and friendlier to people I general, which is like. I've been focusing on the good points of me again, and have been much happier with myself. I had a good day recently, and on the way back from town I popped into the piercing studio to ask about the piercings I wanted done.
The piercer wasn't in at the time, but the girl at the desk told me that what I wanted done was fine - if a little unusual. She said that the piercer would arrive at two, so I said I might come back. I hadn't planned on getting it done that day, but I suddenly really wanted it.
I went home and waited until my mum got home from work, and told her what I wanted done. Where she hadn't like the idea of the transverse lobes, she didn't mind the snug so much (I can't say she loved it though). I decided to leave the other one for the minute. She didn't want me to have it done straight away, but my mind was made up, and I convinced her. She just told me to keep it hidden from my dad, who can't understand why the hell I would want bits of metal poked through me, and goes all quiet and funny when he sees a new piercing. I guess that's just something I have to deal with when I get pierced. It's like Marmite: you either love it or you hate it.
I knew before I could have my ear done, I had to go to work (McDonalds, w00t...) and tell my boss I was back from holiday and talk about starting work again blah blah blah. I knew that this also meant that I would get to see all my friends at work again. Groovy.
So off I went, with butterflies in my stomach. As I arrived at work, it was great to see the familiar faces and have people so excited to see me - you wouldn't believe how much I'd missed some people. Unfortunately it was busy, and my boss had to keep rushing around so it took a long time to explain why I was there, and for him to get everything sorted. During this time, one guy that I adore wanders in and I got that horrible giddy surge of adrenaline I always get when I see him *rolls eyes*, how cliché do I sound? Lord. It was so nice to talk to him, and I sorted everything out, then left because everyone was busy.
I wandered along the street still feeling a bit shaky (not good), and into the parlour, where the lady from earlier (I'm not sure of her name) remembered me and said hi. I chatted for a minute or so, filled in the forms, and went into the back room. I knew I'd have to cover up the new piercing with a lovely blue plaster for work (and I'm at work a fair old bit), so I asked the guy, whose name I think is Andy, whether it would be better to have a CBR, or a straight bar. After some discussion, we decided on the CBR once he showed me how it would sit, because it would irritate my ear less. Mainly, I just wanted what would be easiest to care for since my last piercing gave me so much trouble.
We fiddled around with the placement for a bit, because I wanted it quite low. Finally it looked right, I was happy. Went through the usual procedure, only this time, he used clamps, which I hadn't encountered before. They didn't hurt, but they did feel quite strange. It was completely different to my other piercings, before I didn't exactly feel the needle go through. It was painful, yes, and it made me grit my teeth, but it wasn't exactly localised. It was odd. I wasn't looking forward to him putting in the jewellery, yet it went in really easily. What a relief! The complete opposite to my cartilage piercing - which didn't hurt as much when the needle went in, but murdered when the jewellery went through!
All done, he showed me the result. Brilliant! It looked great above my lobe piercings. I think he liked it too, because he commented on how unusual it was. I was really pleased. However, the mix of previous adrenaline and nerves made me feel a bit faint. I stayed sitting down, and he gave me a glass of water, and told me to keep my knees up and stay there as long as I needed to. I'd brought a chocolate bar with me just in case, which came in handy! After a minute or so I went out into the reception area to pay, and bought some saline solution too, which I didn't last time. I still felt a bit funny, so I sat there for a while, finishing my chocolate, and chatted to the lady about my trip. There was another couple there who were looking at tattoos who listened and chatted a bit too, which was nice. I felt a lot more comfortable there than I had been last time, partly because I had learned so much in the meantime and partly because I was so glad to be home among people that appreciate me that I just wanted to be friendly and nice to everyone.
Both the girl and the piercer made sure I was OK before I left, and I walked back home in a good mood to show my mum...who didn't mind too much. I was surprised at how little my ear hurt. There's a very faint tingling, but nothing compared to what I was expecting.
I really love my new piercing - my ears look much more balanced out, and it's very pretty. Each of my piercings to date how some kind of story behind them, and I'm glad that I'll remember this one as something empowering, and a memento of my incredible trip, and how it made me feel, both good and bad.