It all started at the tender age of three. I finally convinced my mom to let me get my ears pierced. Or more so, my grandma had a weekend alone with me and decided to surprise me with an early birthday present. I was ecstatic. We drove to Claire’s and I got to pick out my earrings. I didn’t even shed a tear (or at least I don’t think I did). I felt so cool and when I started preschool I came to be one of the only girls with piercings. I felt like the IT girl, all my friends were so jealous, I wanted to relish this feeling forever.

DISCLAIMER #1: I went through a weird tomboy phase so anything slightly girly was unappealing and irrelevant to me from the age of ten to thirteen

Fast forward thirteen years later, earrings were no longer something that consumed my thoughts until I started to snap back into my more girly, teen years. I was a sophomore in highschool, playing club volleyball when I started to notice that everyone had their ears double pierced. Eventually, one of my teammates and I decided that we were going to go get our ears double pierced together. When I got to Claire’s I sat down, picked out my earrings, and spontaneously decided I also wanted my single helix pierced. It was like an adrenaline rush through my whole body. The way I made the decision on such a whim, the fact that I went through with it, the needle piercing my cartilage so acutely. I felt alive, I wanted more.

Unfortunately, I had to wait two more years before I could get any other piercings because of volleyball. We weren’t allowed to wear jewelry while we played, and since I played all year round there would never be anytime for my piercings to heal. But the whole time I envied others with cool piercings and continually dreamed

Finally, once my senior season ended, I knew it was time. The only issue I had was the cost. I repeatedly found myself putting off the date because I didn’t want to pay. I figured it wasn’t worth the price (and I didn’t want to use my own hard earned money, I was waiting for my mom to say she would pay for them), Therefore, I was so desperate that I bought a $5 piercing kit off of amazon and pierced my own triple lobes by myself, in the bathroom at midnight. Though risking serious infection, I saved myself $40 and got my triple lobes pierced in the convenience of my own home.

Next on the list is to get my conch pierced, but since that located in the inner cartilage of my ear, I have decided to save the money and wait it out. I even have my next piercing after THAT planned out (that piercing will be a surprise though). My dream is to have tastefully shredded ears full of piercings. I’m also currently planning my first tattoo, but I REALLY don’t have the money for that sort of addiction.

DISCLAIMER #2: I DO NOT RECOMMEND OR ENCOURAGE PIERCING YOUR OWN EARS IT CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS AND INVOLVES MANY RISKS