Turning 16 can mean getting your drivers license for some, but for others, it's also a common age cut-off for being allowed to get certain piercings, even with your parent's consent and presence, based on the shop and piercer's policies. When I turned 16, I got my first non-lobe piercing, and that was a double cartilage piercing in my right ear. As you can see, both my style and ability to expertly apply wings has definitely evolved since the cover picture was taken, but that is an authentic, first-time experience face of someone who just got a piece of metal shoved through their ear. Twice.

After my first set of piercings, I was hooked. Two weeks later I was back at the shop laying on the other side of my body as a cold sting that would become all-too-familiar enveloped the top part of my left ear. These two piercings healed relatively well, although one did reject I (and I don't recommend this) kept it in place. All in all, it looks just fine and feels just fine, but that was one hell of a couple screaming red hot months. I then got another cartilage piercing on each of my ears, one higher than and one lower than the other two studs, respectively. Are you keeping track? I'm at eight holes already!

The final two ear piercings are less known among the public but they are some of my personal favorites. I had my rook pierced by a cute girl named Betty in New York. She was totally hygienic and meticulous about cleaning each tool and piece of jewelry, but somehow my rook still rejected. Six months after the piercing, the entire bar snapped out of my ear (not as painful as you might think). I still haven't gotten it redone but it is on my list to do so! The other one is known as a snug piercing. The snug is the cartilage in your ear that is right on the outer rim of your ear, but not quite considered a "cartilage" piercing. If I'm being honest, the snug hurt the absolute worst out of all of my piercings, and is actually still healing. Some days I wake up and it's sore, but it's also the most badass ear piercing one can get (in my opinion) so I'm giving it time and tender care.

I have four bodily piercings not on or in my ears. I''ll give you a few minutes to guess.

My belly button ring hurt pretty bad! I got it as a reward for losing 30 pounds and as an incentive to keep the weight off. I would say it hurt not quite as much as the snug did, but keep in mind this is not a shared opinion. Some people don't even feel it when they pierce their belly button.

My nose doesn't even deserve a full paragraph. If you're thinking about piercing your nose (and I mean nostril, not septum) just freakin do it. It doesn't hurt and takes like a week to heal as long as you don't f*** with it. DO IT!

Lastly, my most recent piercings were of my nippies. Yes, my nipples, and I could not love them more. I purchased some beautiful opal front-facing barbells and you bet your ass I feel dainty as hell in those things. Lots of women have asked me if it hurt, and it hurt like a piercing would, but nothing close to my snug or even my belly button. On the second nipple, it hurt slightly more than the first because of all of the blood that had rushed to my chest from the first piercing. Also, if you're self-conscious about your nip nope, no worries, the piercer is there to be professional and pierce your body, nothing else. I'll be creating a follow-up article regarding the experience of getting my nipples pierced that includes aftercare, pricing, and just general information you might want to know before you let a "stranger" shove some metal through your t*ts.