I would like to tell you the story of my nostril piercing. Yes, I know, it's not exactly an adventurous piercing. Millions of people have them. But I'd be willing to bet that a lot of 'routine' piercings have stories behind them. Not earth-shattering, but stories nonetheless. Here is mine.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A year ago Artist Not sure Studio Jetty Road Piercing Location Glenelg, South Australia In 2003, I started working for a large multinational company. It was a great place to work, and no-one there minded a few extra pieces of metal in their employees. I had a few piercings; 2x lobes each side, tragus, rook, navel, and tongue, along with a couple of tattoos. There was always far more positive interest in my mods than negative.
I have always liked nostril piercings, but as I think I have a really ugly nose, I didn't really consider getting one myself for a long time - until a few years ago, when I thought that maybe a little sparkly stud on the side of my nose would draw attention away from the other 'ugly' bits of my nose. As usually happens with piercings, the more I thought about it, the more I decided I wanted one.
I wasn't sure how my bosses would take it, but I figured they surely wouldn't sack me just for getting a nostril piercing. I continued to think about it for a while.
Not long afterwards, I decided to further my legal career. I am a qualified lawyer, but had never actually practiced as a 'real' lawyer to that point. One of my employer's contracted law firms offered me a position, and I took it. I dutifully removed my tongue stud, and commenced working for 'the firm'. I knew it would be hard work. I knew they would probably sack me if I got my nose pierced. I had no idea it would almost completely ruin my life!
There were some horrible people working there. Two years later, I was just about fed up with the stress and bitchiness. Everyone was overworked, and they took it out on each other. Backstabbing was the order of the day. For a while, the extra pay made it tolerable. After a while, though, I couldn't take it anymore. I had had enough of working until 10pm to try to meet my billable hours target. I wanted my life back.
So I resigned. I'd like to say that I told them to stick it, or that I just up and left; but due to some more backstabbing and tall tales, I was called in to a meeting and told to leave. It was extremely unpleasant. I had already developed a major depressive disorder whilst working there, and my depression soon got out of control. I was an unemployed failure. But I was also very angry towards the law firm because of the way I was treated as a fee-earning machine, then thrown on the scrapheap when I didn't make the partners enough money.
After I resigned, I started thinking more about getting my nose pierced. The upside to being unemployed is that you can do whatever you like. I was liberated from six-minute billing units. My worth was no longer measured by how much I could charge clients. And most importantly, they owed me a piercing. OK, so I wasn't really that disappointed about having to take out my tongue piercing, as I had always found it just a teeny bit annoying. But that wasn't the point.
I had already done some research online about nostril piercings. I have long had a fascination for India and its culture, which is part of the reason why I like this particular piercing. My research had revealed that Ayurvedic practitioners believe that a nostril piercing on the left side helps ease 'women's problems'. I sure could use a cure for those. I also learned that some Indian women get their noses pierced as a rite of passage when they reach maturity, or when they get married. I had recently turned 30 and I was getting married in a few weeks. It was a no-brainer.
My fiancé was away for the weekend, so I drove myself to my favourite piercing shop. I walked in. The lady who normally did the piercings wasn't there. I thought of coming back another day, but I was psyched up to get pierced, so I decided to give the other lady a chance. She showed me the standard silver nose studs, and I asked for a gold one instead. She got out an 18k yellow gold stud with a ˝ point diamond. It was perfect.
I paid my money (choosing to overlook the rather overpriced jewellery) and the piercer directed me to the usual piercing area. I sat down and she asked what side I wanted pierced. I indicated the left side of my nose, and she marked the spot. I checked it in the mirror, then sat down and shut my eyes. I was sure it wouldn't hurt. After having both my nipples pierced a few months earlier, I thought this would be easy peasy. I was wrong. The needle sent searing pain through the side of my nose. Involuntarily, I pulled my head back as she was still pushing the needle through. I immediately felt guilty and tried to stay dead still while she put the jewellery in. Fortunately it was over quite quickly.
I stood up and had a look in the mirror. Apart from a few little drops of blood, it was perfect. And the pain had gone already. I left the shop and sat in my car. I spent a few minutes trying to take a decent picture with my phone so I could show my fiancé. After sending the photo, I drove off. I kept sneaking a look in the rear-view mirror whenever I was stopped at traffic lights.
My nose piercing healed well and I hardly had any pain from it apart from the initial piercing. One advantage with nose piercings is that they don't get bumped too often, unlike navels or nipples. Naturally, there were a few times when I caught it on something and hurt it, but that was minor compared to my other piercings.
One year later, the left side of my nose is still slightly swollen compared to the right. I am not sure why, but I am not too bothered about it. It doesn't hurt, but I am looking forward to the day when all the swelling goes away.
I am back working for the company I worked for before the law firm, and I love my job. Most of all, I love the little diamond stud on my face. It's a visible reminder that I am no longer a slave to the conservative, corporate money machine. It shows the people who tried to ruin my life that they lost. It says "up yours".