I can't say I honestly remember when my interest in body modification came about, but I do remember when the thought of a nostril piercing even vaguely crossed my mind. It was the eighth grade and I was thirteen. The end of the year was approaching quick and our final project was an "ABC Book." As you can imagine, we were assigned to discuss a topic that in some way dealt with our lives for each letter of the alphabet. The idea of a nostril piercing came about during the letter "Y" for "Yikes!" This was the page that dealt with all the (at that time in my life) crazy things I might do. One of them was, you guessed it, piercing my nose. It really was a crazy thought to me-I am generally a "good girl" and getting something pierced was really rebellious to me. Five years later, I am still a "good girl," only now there is a pretty little baby blue 18 gauge stud in my left nostril.
At A Glance Author Corey Contact Corey@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Mikely Crue Studio Black Pearl Tattoo Location Wisconsin Somewhere along the line, body modification became a serious topic for me. It was no longer a crazy idea. For years I toyed with possibilities, making light and joking about the topic with my parents, who assumed I would never do a thing like modifying my body. As the age of eighteen drew closer, I began to crave it. Every piercing and tattoo looked absolutely delicious to me. For months I browsed BME and imagined myself getting something done: the nerves, the rush of that sudden pain, the joy of how amazing it looked afterwards. I eventually settled on either getting my nostril or tongue done first. My insecurities about the consequences of a tongue piercing (chipped teeth, worn enamel, infections) led me to decide fully on a nostril piercing.
I even went so far to settle on two shops I liked: Black Pearl and Skin Candy, located in another town. I was familiar with Black Pearl; I had heard about it at school, everyone seemed to go there, I suppose you could say it was the "go-to place." After checking out their website, I was sold. The place was clean, and the quality of the tattoos was phenomenal. It just felt right.
My birthday is in June, and it came and went without much progress in the piercing department. I had a lot of other things to worry about: graduating, college preparations, but it was always there in the back of my mind. Once I was armed with money (gifts from my birthday and graduation) however, it became very real. Finally, late on the 18th, I got a "wild hair" as they say and decided to just bite the bullet and get pierced. You see, I was very nervous about having it done because my father was dead set against me having it done, and I really didn't like the idea of disappointing him, nor did I want to get yelled at.
The next morning, though, the feeling was still there and I employed my best friend to drive me to the studio. She was more than willing, but little did we know about the troubles ahead.
First off, there was the issue of getting money. I only had $24 dollars in cash and I knew I would need more than that. I had some money to my name in checks, but how was I to cash them? I called the local grocery store and found out, much to my heart break, that they did not cash personal checks unless something was being bought. Previous knowledge told me that I could only go ten dollars over on the amount. The check was for $30 and was already made out to me. My friend was persistent, however, and urged that I still see if I could get it cashed. At this point, I think the heavens were playing a part, because the girl at the customer service desk was nice enough to cash my check despite it being over the ten dollar limit. So, after buying a pack of gum, I had enough money to get pierced. Then it all settled in. This was actually going to happen! I was going to get in the car, and we were going to drive to Black Pearl! I was sure I was insane.
Supposedly, the studio was a straight shot from my house. There was no way we could have missed it. But trust me, we did. A lot. And it was right under our noses. For an hour and a half we drove around downtown, looking for the place that seemed nonexistent. My friend turned it into a man hunt, searching for anyone she knew that might know where the shop was. I even called the shop to double check where they were, but it didn't help. Frustration set in quickly, and I said that if we didn't find the place after a last look, I was going home and giving up. It was a sign! Believe it or not, the shop was found, annoyingly closer than we thought, after my friend called a family friend that had been there himself.
Pulling into the parking lot, my nerves set in. There was no turning back now... I had to do it. To put it lightly, I was scared. Walking into the shop, I was a bit surprised to see that it looked exactly like the pictures on their website (imagine that!). It had a cool atmosphere... there was tons of flash all around, portfolios on the main counter, a little sitting area with a couch and a few recliners with a coffee table between them, with more portfolios on top. There was death metal blaring over the speakers, and man, I was nervous. After greeting the man that was working on a tattoo in the back, he took a moment to get the papers together and then had me fill them out and told me the piercer would be out soon. Indeed Mr. MC did appear and checked over the papers and my ID, asked for the $40 and told me it would be a bit while he set up. I was slightly nervous about him. He seemed kind of aloof and distant, like he didn't really care. For a time, I even wondered if he was high (I knew truthfully that he wasn't.). But, my friend and I walked around and looked at flash until I sat down and so did she. She looked tired and bored; I was scared and nervous from hearing horror stories of the pain, thinking I was insane and not looking forward to the reactions waiting at home.
The time came for me to go back into the room and my friend tagged along, and I wiggled into the chair as I am quite short. I laid back and waited. I picked out my stud. MC explained everything to me from start to finish. I was more than comfortable with him then. He knew what he was doing and he did it like the good shops do on BME. First he cleansed the area, measured the nose screw and bent it, and then he marked my nose with a purple felt tip marker. After checking that I liked the placement, we were set. He showed me the small stainless steel vile he was going to put in my nose to catch the needle, and then he asked if I was ready. I replied with a nervous "sure." He then told me to take a deep breath and he stuck the needle through. It was nothing. I was actually surprised. It barely hurt at all, my eyes just watered. I even asked, "Was that it??" and he smiled a bit and replied, jokingly of course, "Yeah, but I can really yank on it if you want." He then slid the jewelry through and applied some pressure to stop the slight bleeding which is very normal. After that, he cleaned it using H2Ocean, explained the after care process to me, and I was golden! I was thrilled with my new piercing. Although it was smaller than I would have originally liked, it's more than perfect now. I spent the last of my money on a can of H2Ocean to make sure I took care of my new piercing the right way.
When I got home, the first thing I did was call my Dad. I knew he was on his way home from work, and if I warned him now I would have a chance of surviving. He was actually very calm about it. I knew he was unhappy, but he wasn't angry. When he got home, he came into my room, asked "Where?" so I pointed to where it was. He made a disgruntled face and then left. That was it.
My mom's reaction was easier, because she knew I was eventually going to get it done. In fact, I think she even found it funny. However, after that, there was a family discussion and I was told that I was to have nothing else done without discussion first, or until I was COMPLETELY living on my own (i.e. not in college). I was also told that my dad was more comfortable with me getting a tattoo rather than a tongue piercing, but that I would have to talk about that first as well, and that THEY would take me to have it done.
All in all, the addition of my new piercing was the greatest thing I have done of late. I plan on getting a tattoo soon, I think. But I am happy that I did it, and I all I have to say is that... if you want to have something done, do it! But please, consider every possible consequence beforehand. Body mod is a big move, just don't do it impulsively.