I have wanted an industrial done since I was 15 years old. One of my friends whom I've looked up to my whole life had two industrials done and I loved the way they looked. After just slightly mentioning the idea to my parents I realized that It was almost a lost cause. Living with two strict parents who think body modifications are a waste of time, I knew that it wouldn't happen until after I was legal. I was literally counting down the days until my birthday so I could have this thing done. Once I turned 18 I put it off for a month for one reason: pain.
At A Glance Author Lisa Contact Lisa@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Matt Studio Mysitics Location Croften, Maryland When I saw people on the street that had an industrial done I would always ask about the pain. I got mixed responses from everybody. The friend said that she wasn't going to lie to me and that they hurt her a lot. My ex-boyfriend got one done, and told me that it hurt but it wasn't too bad. Various others told me that it was the worst pain they've felt and others told me that it was nothing. Pain is such a personal thing I guess you can't judge based upon other people's experiences.
My ex-boyfriend got his done while we were dating and of course I was insanely jealous. Here he was, 15 years old, and got the piercing I had to wait for until I was 18. His mom told me that she would sign for me but I did the honest thing and said I would wait until my turn came.
Feeling sorry for me, my ex-boyfriend told me that he would take me one day. As promised, he took me right after my 18th birthday to this awesome shop down the street where he has his done at when he was only 15. (He now has two double industrials in each ear). I put off the actual date until he dragged me there one day.
I was terrified. I'm a big wuss when it comes to pain, especially semi-self inflicted. It took me an hour to have my lobes pierced when I was 13 because I wouldn't let the lady at Claires come near me with that gun until I was good and ready. I have to do things my way, or no way. No one can rush me into anything that I'm not willing to do, so with this in mind, it took me a long time to get ready for it.
After getting up the courage to actually tell the people at the shop I was there to have my industrial done and taking my sweet time to fill out the paper work, I finally sat down in the chair. I kept saying that I was terrified and scared and kept being really annoying, I know. I asked my piercer a million questions and I got one answer I won't ever forget. I once again repeated me "Does it hurt a lot?" question after getting a glance at his personal industrial. "Have you ever been in a bad relationship?" he asked me, startled I thought about it and replied yes. "Emotional pain hurts a lot more than physical pain."
After thinking about it, I took a deep breath and said that I was finally ready. What was I so afraid of? It wasn't going to kill me, Its something I wanted. I love acting like I'm a tough bitch so I just swallowed all of the fear. My heart was jumping out of my chest. Just seeing the piercer put those gloves on and pick up a needle almost made me sick to my stomach.
After my ex-boyfriend tried to calm me down after my annoying wussy performance, I finally said I was ready. I closed my eyes and my piercer told me exactly what he was doing the whole time, which made me feel more at ease.
The first (bottom) hole hurt. It felt like someone put a lighter to my ear and burned it, then before I knew what happened the second hole was done. Piece of cake. It was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. It felt like my ear was on fire but I was so so happy to have it done, I couldn't wait to see it in the mirror. Once I did none of the pain mattered, it looks so good and I'm glad I did it. I couldn't stop checking it out in every mirror that I passed for at least a month.
To this day I love my industrial. I'm glad I got it done everyday. The pain was the main thing that kept me afraid of it, but in all honesty, pain is the stupidest reason to keep yourself from having what you want. Its only physical pain, 'this too shall pass'.