I began junior high in the fall of 1992 (I feel old saying that!), and up till that point only had two piercings, the original earlobe piercings I had done with a gun in August of 1987. Apart from tattoos, earrings were the only body modifications which I knew about. That changed when I met two of the girls in my classes, Jasmine and Tracy. Both of them had nose rings, and I was fascinated and thought they were really cool. Jasmine was in my grade (and later turned out to be a superficial snotty bitch), and Tracy was a year older, and had come from some alternative school for bad kids. She was a nice fun person though, and having a nonstandard piercing seemed to fit with her rebellious persona. But as much as I liked and admired their nose rings, however, I was far too young to have such a piercing done myself without parental permission, and I didn't seriously want it enough to do research or go begging my parents until they relented.
At A Glance Author Anyechka Contact Anyechka@bme.anon IAM HelplessDancer When A month ago Artist Rebecca Studio Lark Vegas Location Albany, NY On and off over the ensuing years I've thought about having my nostril pierced many times, but not till very recently did I get serious enough to actually want to do something about it. I am 23 now and have had a lot of time since 1992 to think about how much I really wanted this piercing, to do research, think about how it might affect my life, etc. I know there are always notable exceptions, but I think this is a good reason why it's always a wise idea to wait till you're of age to get a nonstandard piercing, a tattoo, or anything that requires one be of a certain age (like marriage, for example). It's not that the person's deep desire and sincerity are in doubt, just that if you want this piercing so badly at the age of twelve, as I did, chances are you're still going to want it just as badly once you're of legal age. Good things come to those who wait. And it also seems to be the case that you'll appreciate something more if you've had to wait for it, and it just fe els good knowing you were able to go out and do this on your own as a grown adult, instead of having to beg your parents and get good grades for a year because you were underage.
I moved back to New York State in February of this year, and thought it might be a good time to finally go through with it and get my nose pierced, to celebrate moving back after six and a half years away. There were a few piercing studios within walking distance of my house back in Massachusetts, but as soon as I announced my intention to my parents, my father started going on about how I don't have health insurance and I couldn't live in their house with a pierced nose. All of this after years of telling me to stop talking about it and just do it! As though I were contemplating getting my eyelid or hand web pierced. And when we moved back, I called a number of local piercing studios to ask about prices, trying to find the cheapest one. (I live with my parents because I can't find a real job thanks to Bush's bad economy and do temp work at the moment, so I felt I couldn't afford a pricey studio.) The one I'd heard good things about, Lark Street Tattoo and Piercing, ch arged $60, so I felt I couldn't go there, even though it was in downtown Albany and right near where the bus left me off. The other studios I called were a bit cheaper; one was $50 and the other was from $45 to $50, depending on if it were a stud, a gold ring, or a silver ring. But those other studios were on Central Avenue, which is a rather shitty part of the city, and it's not a nice street to walk down except at the far far end of it near the highway.
I finally got a longterm assignment in May, and I was making enough money to afford to go to Lark Street. I didn't even tell my parents I was going to go there. I'm past legal age and can do what I want with my body. I printed off a coupon on their website, for ten dollars off the next tattoo or piercing, and just last month finally used it. The Friday before it actually happened I went down there, very nervous, and got up the nerve to walk into Lark Street Tattoo. There are two shriveled skulls with tribal-looking wigs in the front window, so it was kind of intimidating. When I walked in, there was a guy getting a tattoo. The guy behind the counter told me that they don't do piercings anymore and to go two doors down to Lark Vegas. I was really nervous about how much it was going to hurt, and for the time being got to put off the impending pain when my credit card was rejected. Apparently when I had called it to activate it, they hadn't recognised me as calling fro m my home phone, so I had to go through the whole rigmarole again, calling two different places on Sunday to straighten the whole mess out. And thank God the credit card was accepted when I went back on Tuesday.
The first time I had been in there, Friday, I had had my old stuffed cat Davy (named after Davy Jones, my first crush) in my backpack, so I could squeeze him during the piercing. I had to put this cat into retirement several years ago because he was getting yellow from age and has several tears on his fabric from age, with the stuffing poking through. He was made by my grandmother in 1988 and is very special to me, and I wanted to bring my old friend for comfort. But as it turned out, I didn't need to bring Davy along as a crutch. I sucked it up on the day I returned (with my newly-activated credit card) and did not bring him (or any stuffed animal) along with me. I didn't want to look immature (even though I don't play with stuffed animals; the few stuffed animals left in my room are on display only), and if it hurt, I could just clench my fists or something. And it only lasts a second, right?
I woke up on Tuesday, 24 June, knowing that I was going to get my nose pierced that day. I even dreamt about getting my nose pierced with a light blue stud, the kind I'd picked out the day my credit card had been rejected. It was an interesting feeling, knowing that it was the last time I could scratch my nose and not have to be careful about doing it, the last time my nose was empty, the last time I could blow it without being gentle. The assignment I was on ended early, and I hung out in downtown Albany like I usually did when work let out early, only this time I went right to Lark Vegas when I got off of the bus. It could have been really embarrassing, going back into a shop where my credit card had been rejected, but it was only a few days later, and I'd already been waiting since 1992 to have this done. Another small delay wasn't going to turn me against getting my nose pierced!
This time the credit card went right through, and once again I selected a light blue nose stud. Rebecca, the girl behind the counter, was once again the piercer in the house. I filled out the paperwork while she set things up in the other room, and she remembered that the year of birth on my ID was wrong. I also had to show my college ID as proof of my identity because of that snafu. I honestly didn't do that on purpose; my ID gives my year of birth as 1978 instead of 1979, but I got that ID made out when I was 22, so it's not like I've been using a false ID to do stuff I shouldn't have been doing when I was underage, and I'm going to get it finally corrected soon. Then we went back into the piercing room.
The doorway was made of long strings of bamboo, with a design painted on them. The actual room had a sink, a mirror, and a cot like the kind there would be in a hospital. I was a bit nervous when I saw the needle in the package, but it wasn't that big, no bigger than a sewing needle. I told her that I wanted my left nostril done, since I don't like the right side of my nose and wanted to draw attention away from it. It's not that major, but there's a bone sticking up at an angle under the skin on the right side of my nose. At certain angles it's really noticeable, and I've never liked how it looks. I also just discovered that most women in India have the left side pierced, since it's believed to be linked to the sexual organs and thus will lessen the pain of childbirth and menstrual cramps. I don't have any kids yet, but the latter reason is a really good incentive to have gotten the left side pierced, given my history with violent cramps that can only be prevented th rough taking pills. (Maybe it's Nature's way of getting back at me for never having had PMS, giving me indescribably awful cramps on the first day too many times to recount, often so bad I had to leave school and spend the entire day incapacitated and throwing up.) Whether that's an old wives' tale or not, it's a great additional reason to have the left side pierced!
So, Rebecca cleaned the left side of my nose with iodine and Bactine, and I okayed the purple marker dot she'd put there. She was wearing gloves, and all of the equipment was sterile, so I wasn't afraid something bad would happen like my father was convinced it would. The nose is the next-most common piercing in the world, and millions of people both dead and living have had it done and lived; I'm pretty sure it's a safe procedure! I was really nervous but told myself it would only be a second, and I was glad when Rebecca told me to close my eyes as she put the needle through. I honestly didn't feel a thing, not even a tiny prick. I felt the needle going through my skin, and the nostril stud being screwed in a moment later, but there was absolutely no pain whatsoever. The worst pain I've ever been in was falling off of a galloping horse, at the end of September 2001, when I thought I was moments away from dying of a smashed skull or snapped neck, and I'd been telling m yself that getting my nose pierced could be nowhere near that painful. And it turned out I didn't even have to put pain into perspective, since there was no pain!
It felt really weird walking out into the street after that, this strange new foreign object in my body. I hung out at the New York State Museum and the library for the rest of the afternoon until the last bus home came, and it felt odd, having the nose screw in there, and it also felt a bit sore. The feeling of oddness quickly abated, though, and now I don't even feel it. My younger brother was the first person to notice it, and then my mother, who thought it looked cute. When my father spotted it at dinner he was a bit upset I'd done it, going on about how I don't have health insurance and I'll have a harder time getting a job now, but he wasn't upset for long. It's very discreet and mainstream. Millions of people throughout history have had their noses pierced with no drastic emergencies afterward. How many people have been hospitalised on account of getting their noses pierced? It stopped bleeding a bit under a week after I had it done, after cleaning it with wa tered-down antibacterial soap and homemade salt soaks. It looks and feels completely healed now, though it hasn't even been a full month yet.
My parting advice would first be the basic thing that so many others have mentioned—always pat your nose dry, don't rub a towel on it. I've also had to switch over to sleeping on my back, after reading about how many people have had their nose rings or screws ripped out in the middle of the night. Also be careful to not let it catch on your clothes when you're putting them on or removing them. I haven't yet had it fall out of my nose. And when you've wanted something for almost eleven whole years like I did, you're going to take extra special care of it when it finally happens. Don't get lazy and forget the piercing when it's healing. I didn't wait so damn long just to have it end in bloody catastrophe or having to get it repierced.
I intend to keep this piercing in the rest of my current incarnation. It looks very flattering, and kind of evens out my nose, so that the right side isn't as noticeable as it used to be. My nose is mine now, it looks beautiful, it's very mainstream, and it's also very common over in India. While my religious path is different from theirs, I draw great inspiration and influence from the many religions in India, and having my nose pierced is a way to feel attuned to this beautiful culture I so admire and respect.
I don't recommend waiting as long as I did to have your nose pierced. My long wait was worth it, and it only goes to show you that if you want something badly enough, being underage is not going to deter you from it once you've reached majority age. You'll want it just as badly, whatever it is, and you'll be mature enough to really appreciate it when you can do it on your own time and instead of having to get parental permission to do it.