Well it all started about 11 months ago when I was 13. In September of 2005, after school pictures had been taken. I started thinking about my "look." I decided, "I have looked like this for a while now, and I kind of want a change." So, I thought about options. Like whether I should dye my hair, or cut it, or just anything else to change my appearance. Well my friend had had an earring for about 6 months, and I looked at it, and said, wow, that looks pretty cool. I would kind of like one. So I decided that yes. I am going to get one.
At A Glance Author Garrett Edwards Contact without00consent@aim.com When A year ago Artist Myself Studio My bathroom Location Dallas, Texas I did not yet know what "gauges" were. And so I started out just piercing it. Well I knew my parents were going to say no. As of every other attempt to do any change to myself they had said that. So I decided, I'm going to hide the piercing. Well since I was only 13, I did not have much money, and could not go to a piercing salon, to get it pierced. So I decided just to do it myself, and use the earring that you get after you pierce it. I took that from my sister, grabbed a straight pin. And got on my way.
So I got in the restroom, and I sterilized the straight pin with a flame, and started finding the center of my ear. I marked it with a sharpie. And started to pierce. Now, I'm not one of those people who will just shove the needle through, so I slowly twisted and turned and pulled and pushed, until finally, it went through. "Yes!" I thought to myself, knowing now, I have a pierced ear. I was overly excited, so I went to my room, and fell asleep. The next day I went to school, and saw my other friend had pierced his the night before also. Well now I decided, I want something cool like my friends, because he had a 14 gauge in his ear. So he let me borrow one. I went home, and put it in, and it worked fine.
Now, I know you're thinking, "how did his parents not notice?" And believe me I got asked that A LOT. During this time, I had long blonde hair, and I covered my ear every time I was around my parents. After a while, it just became instinct. Well now my friend was wearing 12 gauges. So once again, I borrowed one, and put it in. That one took a little work, and I decided it looked cool. Well a couple days later I went to school. And one of my other friends just started showing off a supposedly new "earring." Because no one knew about it except him. Well he was wearing a 00 gauge taper. And I thought to myself. "WOAH, I want one of those!" So I went home that night, being very stupid, went to my garage, and found a nail. (a clean one, but still a very stupid idea.) And I went to the bathroom, and shoved it through, I was now successfully at a 6 gauge. Well now I wanted bigger, so I progressed about a size or 2 for the next 2 nights. I used the inside of a mechanical pencil, a blunt object, that I would NOT reco mmend using, now that I have, to get to a 4 gauge. And I used a mechanical pencils front end as a taper to a 0 gauge.
Once I got to the 0 gauge, I cut up a mechanical pencil, got a lighter, and burnt the ends causing them to melt and turn back, kind of like a flare, holding it in. So I wore that a while, (about 3 days) and decided it was too small. So then I went home, and got a pen, and sharpie. This pen was a little bigger, than a 00 so I tapered up, and got that in. And then took it out, and got the sharpie and shoved it about ¾ of the way up. Now. My ear was in a lot of pain, so I took it out, and cut up the piece around ¾ of the way up. And wore that for a day. And then decided to just get over the pain, and go up to the cap, and wear that. So that's what I did the next night.
A couple days later, I went on a camp out with my church, for two days. And during those days, from all the running, my hair went back, and people saw my gauges. One of the counselors after, called up my parents, and told them about it, just to make sure they knew. Which they did not, so I got lectured and was told to go down, to an 1/8 of an inch. So I complied and did. An 1/8 of an inch, is about an 8 gauge, just for information if you did not know. Well back on with the story... So I was at an 8 gauge for about 3 weeks, and decided once again it was too small. So I started going up, I went to a 4, for about 3 weeks, and then a 2 for about a month and a half. Then It came, to where I wanted my ½ inch, again. So I started doing this, and during that time I started gauging my other ear. And I got to that point again, where my parents noticed, and made me down size, but this time they said, only at a ¼ of an inch can you go. So I thought, well that is better, than an 1/8, and accepted, so I got both my ears to about a 2 gauge, and wore that for a while.
In the next couple of months, I went to a ½ inch and back, and back up, and back down about 3 times, only in my left ear, cause I was too much of a wimp to do my other ear. And so finally got to the point, where I did not like them anymore, and took them out. Then a couple days later, I put them back in. Well just for future information, I am a very indecisive person. So I was taking them out and putting them back in about once every 3 weeks. Well here came the point where I wanted a ½ inch again, and got tired of tapering the jumping sizes, so I used blunt objects. (DUMB, DUMB, DUMB IDEA!) I got to a ½ inch, but with a huge blowout. And I was too cocky to take it out, so I left it in for about a month, and then was made to go back down once again. So I wore a 0 gauge, with a blowout for about 2 months, No, No, No, NO. That was not a smart decision! I ended up making the blowout heal, and stay. Which was probably the dumbest thing I have done with my gauges up to this day.
Well now its August 2006, and I am currently having no gauges in my ear. But the blowout on my left ear is still there, that is the only reason why I took them out. Was to try to heal it. And so I don't know if it will heal, or not. Because, as BMEZINE says, "Everyone's ears ARE different." And I have come to realize this.
So basically to sum everything up of what not to do in gauging, I would say these things...
1. Never EVER use blunt objects,(because trust me, a blowout SUCKS, and you will regret it.)
2. Don't skip sizes, I learned this the painful way, you bleed, and its unhealthy.
3. Don't' ever use household objects, infections can come, and I am very, very lucky I did not get one.
4. And foremost, do it the right way. I got to a ½ inch in a time-span of 3 ½ weeks, and it was very unsafe, and very unhealthy.
I regret all the things I did with my ears, but I still LOVE gauges, and think if you want them, get them. But, if you are wanting normal ears when you are older, and are thinking of surgery repair. Just don't do them. Its too complicated, and may permanently damage your ears. So have fun. I know I did. Because once my blowout is healed or close to healed. I am gauging again. And will probably go to ¾" once I am out of my house. But for now. I'm staying small.