Ok. I've pierced myself several times throughout the past few years, and they've all come out pretty good, even if they were misplaced. It's no surprise, considering when I was young I even tried piercing my fingernails...anyway, I'd done about 9 piercings at this point, and I really wanted another cartilage, but my mom didn't want to go take me to get it done. I'd done a cartilage before and I figured, "hey, it's worth another shot."
At A Glance Author jane Contact jane@bme.anon When N/A Artist me Studio my room Anyway, I set up my little corner where I did all my own piercings. I had a large sewing needle that I used and I got it out and set it over a flame and then soaked it in alcohol. I was ready to do this. I marked where I wanted the hole to be and proceeded to lift the needle up to my ear. At first it seemed pretty easy, but my face started flushing quickly. I'd forgotten all bout that. Oh, I hated that part. But I kept on going. Hell, why stop now? So I kept on pushing and soon enough I was almost through. I could feel it but it didn't want to go all the way.
So I was sitting in dismay, head down and needle hanging from my ear, and I was contemplating taking it out when I decided I'd better get on with it one last time. So after a while more of struggling I finally got it through. Lucky me. It was crooked. But I didn't care. I did NOT do all that work to retire it already. So I took it out, ready to pop in the earring. But low and behold, the back had closed. Oh I was FURIOUS. But I decided it was only the back, and I hadn't done all that to stop now. So I pushed the needle through again...and again...and again.
Now a smart person would have quit there. But a stubborn person, a.k.a. myself, wouldn't. So finally, ear beet red and pulsating, I decided I would just push the earring through the back. Well, I pushed and pushed and pushed and it finally popped through. And then all that blood that had been pulsating through my ear, started pulsating out of my ear. But it was in. My journey was complete. I was in a LOT of pain, but I thought it was well worth it. I mean hey, I had my second cartilage piercing, and that's all I'd really wanted in the first place, right? Right. And there was only two options at this point...either take it out or suck it up. So I cleaned myself up and went on my merry way.
A few days later I had the worst pain in my ear. That piercing was way crooked. But I refused to retire it. Anyway I went on a trip with my friend and her mom to Houston, and forgot all about it. It had cleared up for a few weeks once I started taking care of it better, but then I started not caring, because it was doing so good. Needless to say it got massively infected. I woke up one morning while in Houston and it felt like some one had run over my ear. I took a look in the mirror and oh my god. I started freaking out and my friend came to see what the big deal was about. It was NASTY. I took it out for a couple minutes, and then I remembered my struggle. Despite her warnings I put it back in. The next day I couldn't take it anymore and I had to retire it anyway.
I've always had a problem with keeping my piercings cleaned up. But that's a whole different story. My mom always worries when I do my peircings because of that whole "you could hit a nerve and your face will get frozen" thing. I'm not even sure if that's entirely true. But I hear a lot of people telling me to quit piercing myself too. I guess maybe if I look back on that experience, that seems like a good idea, but to the piercing crazed minor, that doesn't care much what happens, it's a whole different ballgame.
Anyway, I guess the moral of the story is if you're going to do a piercing yourself, or even if you have it professionally done, make sure you take care of it, even after it looks good. Because even though that seems like a no-brainer, it's easy to get lazy when you're busy with the rest of your life. This might end up tragic later with my other peircings I want, but I'll be sure to have those done professionally and I feel like I'll actually take care of those. I don't know I guess I just feel like my ears are good practice. But I have started taking care of them better now, considering I've done a couple more since then. I'm getting better at it, and that's the important part.