The beginning of my body modifications started in the same manner that many girls' do. I'd had my ears pierced as a baby, one of those mall jobs with the gun and all. However, way back in my pre-teens and early teens I started to get really into the idea of body modifications. Being so young and having an extremely conservative family, all the things I wanted to do seemed so far out of reach—as they should have been since I probably wasn't responsible enough to correctly care for a piercing. At that age, instant gratification is much more important than thinking things through and considering what sort of consequences may come of actions. Knowing what I know now, giving 13-year-olds safety pins is just a terrible idea. They're bound to do something stupid with them... or are they?!
At A Glance Author Reine Contact creaming@gmail.com When Ten years ago or more I decided that since I couldn't actually get any work done professionally, I would do the only logical thing I could think of and have one of my friends do it for me. We made a plan to add two extra holes in each lobe, using cheap studs that had a talent for turning ears green. Did you just cringe? I sure did.
I carried the studs around with me for a few days, getting the nerve up to do one of the most rebellious acts I'd ever committed up to that point. I met my friend at school that day and told her it was time. Being so punk rock, she had tons of safety pins attached to her clothing. We selected the largest one to get the job done. The final bell rang and we eagerly met eachother at the bus stop out in front of the school. Borrowing a lighter from some other delinquent, we "sterilized" the dull safety pin. She grabbed my ear, asked if I was ready, then shoved it through, stabbing herself in the finger since we weren't intelligent enough to put something back there to catch the end of the safety pin. I was bleeding, she was bleeding, but somehow we got one of those cheap, dirty studs into the hole. Cringe again? We repeated the process with the other lobe and then proceeded to add the last set of holes. Ears bleeding everywhere, we had nothing to wipe it up with aside from our hands and my shirt. The horror.
In order to hide the piercings I had to wear my hair down, which inevitably caused lots of catching and even more sanitation problems. I had a pair of angry, angry ears that were red and oozing an awful lot. But I needed those piercings there. I felt like it was a statement of my individuality, not only to my peers but also to my parents, who I perceived to be horribly oppressive at the time (nevermind that I was too chickenshit to actually show them my ears).
The healing of those things was rough. I used alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol because I didn't know any better. Scar tissue began forming around the outside of my ears, which is still visible nine years later. At the time, it looked as if keloids were starting to build up around the piercings (I have no idea if that's what it really was). But I'll tell you, that part scared me. I wanted some piercings, not huge, bubbly, permanent scars. After some consideration I declared the upper piercings lost causes. I allowed those holes to close up, small bumps of scar tissue being all that's left of that statement of individuality thing. But surprisingly, the second holes finally healed and looked normal. I don't wear jewelry in them anymore, but they've never closed up and are still ready for action if I ever decide to call them to duty again.
In all, that was probably a stupid thing to do. But I'm happy that I did it. Not only did I feel more like myself on the outside, but it opened up an entire world to me. I was more confident (every kid around that age could use a little extra help in that department) and for the first time in my life I felt like my own person, not just an extension of my mother and father. Not to mention I felt a little closer to being as awesome as all the people I idolized on the pages of BME (my, how this place has evolved in 10 years). It's amazing what a couple holes can do. Must be why I got so many more in the years after that.
Just a little advice to anyone who is thinking of performing a piercing at home: do tons and tons of research on sanitation and technique. I can understand that it is not always feasible to have mods professionally done, but you owe it to your body to do things right. Piercing supplies are much more readily available now than they used to be, so you have no excuse!