For about a week prior to my fifteenth birthday, my older sister Tarah had been telling me how awesome my birthday present was going to be. She isn't very good with surprises; she kept begging me to let her give me a hint but I said no. She was so excited about it that she told my friend Matt what it was, but she wouldn't tell me. I honestly had no idea what it was because my mom kept insisting that no one in our house was allowed to get any more piercings. So that week went by relatively slow, as any amount of time does when you're anxious for it to go by. I actually wasn't all that excited about my "surprise," because my sister and my mom often get worked up about little things that they think I'll be ridiculously excited about. They don't know me well and their surprise gifts never turn me on too much, so I was mostly just excited for my birthday to come so that I could (finally) be fifteen.
At A Glance Author Chelsea Contact chelmccartney@yahoo.com IAM LovelyGrasshopper When N/A Artist Ryan Ouellette Studio Precision Body Arts Location Nashua, NH (USA) The day before my birthday came, and I was told that my surprise was going to happen that day because Tarah had a cheerleading competition on my actual birthday. That was when I finally got excited. I was anxious and impatient and everyone was taking so long to get ready! Tarah took a shower and then I took one, and when I came out she still wasn't done getting ready. She said she just had to do her hair, and I told her not to do anything special because I was getting really impatient. My mom was also taking her sweet time getting ready to go, so I opened a Diet Coke and sat down to wait. Of course, a minute later everyone was ready to go, so I had to bring my soda in the car.
Tarah brought a napkin to blindfold me with, but we were picking up my friend Abby beforehand so they didn't blindfold me just yet. I was getting more and more excited, and I asked over and over how long it would take to get there and trying my hardest not to guess what the surprise was. I had two ideas in my mind- they were either going to let me dye my hair or let me get my belly button pierced. Those were the only things I could think of that would require them taking me somewhere.
So we picked Abby up and they blindfolded me and sat me in the car. We drove for a few minutes and I was getting more and more carsick by the second. Abby was sitting next to me in the back seat and Tarah and my mom were whispering in the front.
"You can take off the blindfold," one of them said. "We have to stop back at the house."
I groaned. Now it would be even longer before I got the surprise! At least I could take off the blindfold, though. We went back to my house and my mom went in for a few minutes, claiming she had to go to the bathroom. The three of us sat in the car and waited for her, and then she came out and I was re-blindfolded. Our journey resumed. I pretended to be trying to figure out where we were going by narrating which way the car was going, saying things like "Okay we're turning left," and keeping track. Big mistake. My mom thought I was actually capable of figuring out where we were going by keeping track of the turns and, while I'm flattered that she thought that, I instantly regretted it. She decided to turn around several times and do some crazy spins and stuff, which totally churned my stomach and made me feel even more sick. That made for a whiny, uncomfortable journey (for me at least) and it made it seem even longer than the twenty-five or so minute car ride that it really was.
When we finally pulled to a stop and parked, my mom told Abby and Tarah to help me get out of the car and walk. That made me even more grouchy, because they told me that I could take off the blindfold when we got there. They weren't holding up their end of the bargain, but I reluctantly agreed because I had no other choice. They led me down a sidewalk and I wondered what kind of weird looks we were getting but didn't think too much about it. Excitement was beginning to set in and I really wanted to take off my blindfold. Finally we stopped, and Tarah took my hands.
"What you're getting for your fifteenth birthday is what I got for my fifteenth birthday," she said. I uncovered my eyes and we were standing in front of Precision Body Arts. I grinned and walked in, now knowing what the surprise was. Tarah's fifteenth birthday present was a navel piercing. Now I was really excited.
I waited nervously and impatiently for Ryan to be ready for us. He had to pierce someone else's ear or something and then clean up and get ready for me, and I got really nervous. I couldn't sit still so I paced around the small room, hoping that all would go well. I wasn't sure if he'd even be able to pierce it because I'd pierced it myself about a year ago (BIG mistake, don't EVER do that) and it was still hard from that. I was pretty sure he'd be able to do it but I knew it'd be really painful.
Finally he was ready for me. Abby came in with me and he asked me what color gemstone I wanted in the barbell. I picked light blue. He cleaned my navel and the surrounding area with iodine and reminded me several times to keep breathing. He explained that a lot of people stop breathing but that you're really not supposed to. I hardly listened because I'd heard the same speech when I got my nose pierced and my breathing was fine then, so I assumed I'd be fine again. I lied down on the table and held Abby's hand tightly. My hand was drenched in sweat and I was really nervous and had no idea whether it would hurt badly or not. He put the clamps in place and I tried my hardest to stay still. I took a deep breath in and... forgot to exhale.
"Remember to keep breathing," he said for the hundredth time. Now I felt stupid because I didn't think I would need that advice. I squeezed Abby's hand tighter and braced myself for whatever happened next. I didn't know when the needle would go through or how it would feel or anything and it made me really nervous. I tried to stay still and keep breathing and then he put the needle through.
I gasped and screwed up my face. Yeah, it hurt. Really bad. I tried my hardest to stay still and kept clenching Abby's hand while Ryan put the jewelry in and finished up. I stayed lying down for about an extra minute, then sat up when I felt alright. I looked at my belly button, and there it was! My pretty blue belly button ring. I was so happy with it, and I still am.
It's still healing and it hurts if anything hits it, but otherwise it's fine. The worst part of it only lasted about a second, and if you're nervous about getting it done then don't be because the outcome makes the small amount of pain involved totally worth it.