For quite a long time I've wanted to get a piercing. I was never sure what I wanted to start out with, but I knew I wanted something. I admire people who aren't afraid of what people think of them. I wanted a piercing, and even though I knew people around me would judge, I didn't change my mind. I just had to make up my mind. I knew I would have to go with something tame at first so that my parents wouldn't flip out too much. That meant no matter how badly I wanted to pierce my eyebrow, I couldn't do that.
At A Glance Author Rosemary Contact Rosemary@bme.anon When N/A Artist Nate Studio Beyond Piercing Studio Location Utah I turned 18 about 2 months ago and I decided to celebrate by getting my first real piercing (not including my lobes that I got done with a gun in the mall many years ago). My boyfriend knew the ins and outs of getting a piercing, so he opted to take me to the local body piercing studio himself and pay for it as a birthday gift. I wanted to start out with something simple, so I chose to get my cartilage pierced. I knew I wanted a horseshoe barbell from the start.
A few days after my birthday, we went down to the studio in the evening. I had never been in any sort of piercing studio. There was a tattoo parlor connected to it and I could hear the gun going in the next room. There were pictures of tattoos and different piercings all over, a giant fish tank, and plenty of art on the wall. I was almost jealous that I wasn't the person tattooing or piercing in that studio.
There was a large line and Nate, the piercer, told us to come back in a couple of hours. I couldn't stand the wait! I was so anxious to get it done. We decided to grab something to eat to pass the time – I had heard that you should eat before getting pierced to help you not to pass out just in case.
When we went back, I signed some papers, showed my ID, and picked out my 16-gauge horseshoe barbell. I was getting more and more nervous the closer we got. We went into the room, I pulled my hair back, and lay down on the table. I got my boy to hold my hand – I was more scared than I thought I would be.
Nate just eyeballed the piercing and checked it with me before he actually stuck the needle through. I said it looked good, so he did all his cleaning and stuff. He gave me the whole on-the-count-of-three-breath-out talk and I did just that. He counted "One, two, three..." I breathed in and felt a tiny pinch. After a second he said, "Alright, it's in. Now I'm going to put the jewelry in." The needle going through barely hurt. What hurt more was after he switched the jewelry in, when he was cleaning up the little bit of blood (yes, I did bleed) and junk my ear was really tender so it hurt to be touched.
Nate seemed very thorough and careful. I could tell he knew what he was doing and I trusted him. He made feel very comfortable at the studio.
So that was it! I had my piercing. Afterwards, I just couldn't stop looking at it in any mirror I could find. The horseshoe barbell looked great in my ear. I was elated. My smile couldn't have been wiped off my face for anything. I felt like a whole new person! I felt like me for the first time in a long while. The joy it brought me was unlike anything I've ever felt. I've tried to explain it to some of my friends, but not everybody understands. It was more than just a piercing to me. It has become a part of who I am, a part of my character. I can't imagine not having it now.
It's healing beautifully. That first night it bled while I was sleeping, but it hasn't bled since then. It gets sore every once in a while and sometimes people accidentally whack it, but I'm kind to it. I use a salt-water spray that I bought at the studio. It's very handy for cleaning and I highly recommend it.
It's been two months and I'm itching for another piercing. I've got a list of what I want to do; now I just have to come up with the money! I want another cartilage piercing identical to the one I already have and right below it. I also want to do my eyebrow (of course), a surface piercing right in front of my tragus, a small nose ring, and possibly an industrial. Then perhaps I'll get an awesome tattoo, but I'll leave that for a much later date.