At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When N/A Artist self-done Studio my house! Location nj I'm 15 years old. It's obvious that I'm not old enough to know anything about myself or make any kind of (semi) important decisions. I can't drive, I can't drink, I can't vote. If there is something I don't like, I basically can't change it until I am old enough to matter. There is literally nothing I have control over that can not be taken away from me immediately. Except my body.
My ears, specifically. My parents are not appreciative of body modification and openly and frequently use the word 'freaks' when referring to anyone that doesn't have a very mainstream piercing (standard 18g ears, nostril, navel). They VERY MUCH don't like what I want (possibly venoms and a septum?) and I'm not about to go to a shady place somewhere in new york city and have my tongue fall off because I couldn't wait three more years. However, I am slightly impatient, and this is where my ears come in.
I love the way stretched lobes look. I've had my ears pierced since I was 5, so it's not like I would be putting new holes in my body. I think they are beautiful and the first time I saw them I knew I would be doing it eventually. Eventually came soon enough. The first day of highschool came and the boy sitting in front of me, lo and behold, had a 0g ear! We became friends and he told me all about stretching his ear and even gave me some small 14g earrings to put in.
I took them home, cleaned them with rubbing alcohol, put them in and forgot about them. After a few months I remembered that I was stretching my ears when my friend brought it up. It was time to get a bigger gauge! I skipped 12 and went straight to 10, and this was the first time I ever felt a burning sensation in my ears. I loved it. I was immediately itching to stretch bigger but I knew that would probably make my ears hurt more or even tear. I waited a week and a half and put in an 8. I was fine.
I thought, 'I'll stop here and my parents won't even notice!' Perfect. Except, I didn't want to stop. I was hooked. My friend had given me a little bag full of metal gauges that just called to me. They were 4g, though. After a few weeks, I simply could not resist. Time to stretch again!
This is where I got kind of stupid. I shouldn't have used this to get to 4, but I had no six gauges and no taper. So instead I improvised and used the handle of a mini eyelash brush (very luckily it went from roughly an 8g to almost exactly a 4.) I am very happy I didn't get an infection of some kind because my ears are very sensitive to anything that is not metal. I had the taper in overnight and in the morning stretched the rest of the way to 4g. Hooray! I had amazing ears and finally felt happy about myself. All day I couldn't stop looking at them in anything with a reflection.
Two weeks later, I wasn't content. My fours were looking awfully small, and I'd just discovered a nice surprise in the little gauge bag. A set of 2g tapers and plugs! I was psyched. I neosporin-ed everything and slid the 2g in. It stung, a lot. I was on the phone with my friend and dropped it because I was so surprised at how sharp the pain was for a minute.
I love the 2gs. My parents, though, do not. They finally noticed, after a few weeks. My mom, in particular, freaked out. She screamed a lot and said that i was "mutilating my body" and that I "looked like a freak" and "belonged in a tribe somewhere" and something so disrespectful I refuse to write it down.
I don't care though, I love them. I am planning on going bigger, but I will not go against my parents wishes and get another piercing. I have three years to think about it and learn and research everything more (on BMEzine, where else), so that can wait. I love the way flesh tunnels look, and when I get to 0 i'll get some and put in a picture.
For now, my project will be my ears. I don't know when I'll stop but I'm sure it won't be smaller than 1/2". I realize they are pretty much permanent at that point, but I am sure I'm okay with that. It's not something to rush into lightly, and I have wanted these for a long time. I love the way they look and to me, they are beautiful, and that's all that matters.