My very first piercing, as it is with most people, happened to be on my lobes. Unlike that "most people" category, I had this done for the first time when I was 18 years old, less than a month from graduating high school.
At A Glance Author Alex Johnson Contact Alex Johnson@bme.anon IAM Warhead When A year ago Artist Stephen DeToma Studio Anomaly Studios Location Pasadena, CA Over the course of several weeks I had gone with a few of my friends down to our local piercing shop so they could have different pieces of work done to them, namely a tongue and a pair of nipples. On my first visit I felt kind of out of place, not knowing much about piercing beyond the fact that my sister had her ears pierced some place in the mall, but I found the whole thing fascinating. For the first time in my life I had considered getting modified (besides everyone's young dreams of getting tattooed).
My second visit to the shop was when my I decided to make it happen. After filling out a form, showing some ID, having the necessary sterilization techniques explained, and waiting for my friend to be finished. I chose a pair of black front glass plugs and then ventured into the piercing room and sat on that seat I found to be quite a bit like my dentists office.
The piercer, Mr. DeToma, put some music on and it just so happened to be one of my favorite bands, so that helped me ease into the experience by giving me a sense of familiarity.
I had chosen to get my ears pierced at the largest I could get done initially which was a 6g, a decision I am glad I made. My lobes were marked and corrected to ensure that they were even on both sides and I was informed of the process that this would be done in. Three breaths, three breaths is the amount of time I had to prepare myself for a brand new sensation.
First breathe in, breathe out slowly.
Second breathe in, breathe out slowly.
Third and final breath in, breathe out as hard as you can.
Quite surprisingly I found that the pain was almost nonexistent, a lot like being pinched on a very small portion on your body very directly. My blood was pumping and the second lobe went by without a hitch. A kind of warmth came over my face and I found it to be a very pleasurable experience.
I paid the kind gentleman (who oddly enough is now a good friend of mine, a fact that is true for that whole shop) and I gave myself a few moments to get into a decent frame of mind to drive. This was quickly hindered however, as someone had parked behind my car. Thankfully my friend went and searched out the person whose car it was. Of course this led to a verbal assault by a crazy sushi chef for parking the wrong lot.
My parents weren't aware of the decision I had made and were quite shocked when I came home with earrings in. While they didn't really approve, I was not asked to remove them which was good. Also the people at my school seemed very interested in what I had done. Many of the students were impressed by the gauge I had them pierced at and one of the teachers even understood reasoning behind modification more than I did at the time.
The healing process went fairly well, until one summer morning I woke up and found the flare of the jewelry in my right ear to be missing. I had thought it shattered inside of my lobe so in a panic I went back to the shop to see what could be done for me. Luckily for me nothing of the sort had happened, just the flare being caught in the lobe.
I went back to the room so that my problem could be fixed. Of course it was a different piercer, so a different procedure was used for getting me ready for the pain. The lobe was cleaned and the flare was pushed through much without warning. I didn't have much time to worry about the pain so it wasn't that bad.
Of course I don't have the best of luck, as it happened 3 days later to my left ear. A quick stop at the shop and that was solved with haste.
Getting my ears pierced got me interested in an idea that has changed my life and the way I look at people. It was also my first step to becoming more modified and I am very grateful for them and my friends that took me to Anomaly Studios for the first time. Without them I probably would be keeping with the same mindset that I had for 18 years and most people have for the rest of their lives.