So far it has just been a slight addiction but now, I'm feeling hooked like a fish on a fishing line.
At A Glance Author Naomi When It just happened Artist Myself Studio My Room Location My house Saturday morning 2nd Feb 2008, I woke up and after waiting this time for a month, I decided to buy a taper at 10mm for my left lobe which was then at 8mm.
I began noticing people with tunnels and plugs at a young age, and always thought to myself "Hey, I would love to have some". But coming from a strict family where my mum wore the pants, there was no way I could ever go an earring size bigger, never mind 10mm. Due to family issues now I can stretch my ears and have begun the process of making myself me with body modifications.
I began the whole stretching experience with buying a 2mm taper about 3 and a half months ago. I knew how it vaguely worked, so armed with this yellow taper in my hand, I sat down on the street just outside the shop and took out some anti-bac hand gel and began to stretch my right lobe, but to no avail. It was really painful and judging by the sudden redness of the lobe, it wasn't ready to be stretched, so I tried the left lobe next and it fitted. There was no pain, nothing at all except the earring that had just been in my ear in my hand and a very happy me.
Over the next few months, I went up a mm every week (I know it's stupid, so please don't do what I did). I'm right handed, so my left hand always fiddled with the taper. Weekend after weekend I went into the shop where I bought my original taper from. I felt so good. I was permanently on a buzz.
My friends had never seen the like and some teachers who saw the ever expanding hole, were treated to knowing about it. I have to admit, I was like a young child showing their parent them eating a worm, and the parent would be creeped out just like the teachers.
Eventually I got up to 6mm this, I was told by the shop that sold me the tapers, was the "point of no return". I managed to get that taper into my ear and I remember feeling like something so happy and on a natural high for hours about it. I had made it to the point where my ears would just heal up. But then after a few days, I think I must have had an allergy to the soap I used at home as my ears were pussing, red and swollen. It nearly put me off the whole experience. But thankfully, I had found the bebo group for piercings and tattoos, and asked them about it.
Eventually after many salt soaks and lots of cocoa butter massages, the whole puss and swelling went down and my ears were pretty normal. And then the niggling feeling was felt in the back of my head again almost urging me to go up to the next size.
This has to have been the worst thing ever to put in, an 8mm taper. I had geared my mind up for the pain I knew I would experience. I had smothered the taper in cocoa butter and had massaged my ears in cocoa butter for a long time. So I began putting in the taper. Eventually I got it in. But the next day I went for a shower. I never shower with any jewellery on myself, so took out the taper. Blood went everywhere. My ear was just profusely bleeding. I knew something wasn't right, so put the taper back in and hoped that no shampoo would go into the really painful 8mm hole in my ear.
Thankfully after the shower I had internet access and immediately went onto the bebo page again and asked what was going on. I got a lot of replies. Most saying; "downsize, you've ripped the skin" I knew I had done something wrong, but I couldn't bring myself to downsize my ear. There was this giant conflict in me with one half telling me to not downsize, and the other telling me to downsize.
At the end, I chose not to downsize, but instead to treat my ear with a hell of a lot of respect. Part of that was to buy a tunnel for the ear. I had read up and chose to try and get an organic material. Eventually, after looking in many shops, I settled for a wooden one with double flares...
This was the next task, getting it into my ear. After pulling and constantly rotating my taper, I got the tunnel into my ear and ran downstairs to show my parent. He seemed happy, and I told him I was capping the stretching of at 8mm. Unknown to both of us, 4 weeks later I would be up to 10mm.
So now, after stretching my lobe and having bought a double flared tunnel but not getting it into my lobe yet, I'm up to 10mm. I'm a very proud person now and I'm the only one in my school to have expanded their ears. I've been in my school for 6 years now, and I've seen no-one with it done, so I am truly an individual.
I'm almost afraid to say this, but I don't think I will stretch any further. It seems like 10mm is enough and looking at the taper in my ear, I feel happy in knowing I am unique and stand in a little click of my own. I've chatted to more people who I wouldn't have chatted to before e.g. I was at a charity event 2 weeks ago, and at 1am, I walked up to this guy who had tunnels and talked to him for about half an hour on the subject of ears and stretching.
I think it's made me more aware of my pain thresholds and also of who my true friends are and what people think about me. It seems so stupid to say this, but before I didn't feel comfortable with myself but now, I can look at the mirror most days and think that I'm ok looking due to me stretching my lobes.
The only downside is that there are really nice normal sized earrings and I can't wear them as they fell through my ears now. It certainly caused a fuss on Xmas day with my Grandparents and the pearl earrings they brought back from Australia.
If anyone is reading this please, experiment with your body. I view mine as a canvas waiting to be filled. I'm wanting piercings and hearing/seeing piercing I've never known about. It makes me proud to say that I am modifying my body. It feels so right and natural and I'm so happy there are others out there who are carrying out the same processes as I've done.