Every year when I go to Wildwood, I get a piercing. It started in 7th grade with my second holes, then my cartilage in 8th, my rook in 9th, and my bellybutton in 10th. This year I wanted something completely unique that no one at home would have. After looking up piercings online, I decided I'd like to get my tragus pierced, but not just any old way. I wanted it done vertically, like I picture I came across on the internet. I read up on it and from what people have said, it's THE most painful piercing. EVER. I wasn't really sure about it at first, but then I thought, it's gonna look freaking awesome once it's done, so why not. I KNOW I'll be the only person in my hometown with something like that pierced. So I printed out the picture and took it with me.
At A Glance Author Luigina Contact Luigina@bme.anon When A month ago Studio High Octane Location WIldwood, NJ On our first night in Wildwood, I went straight to High Octane, a store on the boardwalk that I trust with all of my piercings, and asked Erika about the piercing. Erika is a woman that has been working there for as long as I can remember, she's the lady who pierced my cousin's bellybutton in 7th grade. She looked at the picture and said, "Wow, that's really cool! It's gonna hurt like a bitch, but it's do-able." She also said that they had never seen or even tried this piercing before, but they'd be willing to give it a try. She said I could either do a "fake one" (a surface piercing close to the tragus) or do it straight through the cartilage. Of course I chose to go through the cartilage, because I'm a warrior. The next day, my Aunt took my friend and I to get our piercings. When I walked into the store, a guy with some scary looking facial piercings came up to me and said "So YOU'RE the one getting the vertical tragus!! Man I wanted to do it SO bad but they wouldn't let me!!" Apparently everyone in the store was talking about "this girl who wanted this completely unheard of piercing." Erika got me all ready to go and sent me back with the piercer. "You gotta show me how it looks when you're done!"
Tho guy decided he wanted to pierce my friend's rook first, even though I had volunteered to go first. She got pierced, and the whole time I was beginning to get a little bit nervous. Then it was my turn. The guy with the weird face piercings kept coming in to the room to get stuff, "I wanna be back here SO bad!" But he wasn't allowed, so when he was all done getting whatever he needed, the nice (and HOT) guy was ready to pierce me. "Nervous?" he asked me. "A little bit. What about you?" He looked at me with a face that said "Please! Me get nervous?" It took him about ten minutes to get the right size jewelry and he kept looking at the picture I'd brought to see what exactly he had to do. He really took his time with me, and I trusted him a lot. He had to go out and get a few different sizes of jewelry, because the 14 gauge was too long, he ended up choosing a 16 gauge barbell. He clamped my ear, which let me tell you was the worst pain I've ever felt in my entire life. I yelped and he removed the clamp to let me breathe...I think he was getting upset too because he had never done one before. "You ok now?" he asked me. I shook my head yes and he re-clamped my ear. I couldn't even feel the needle go through because the clamp was such a pain, and it bled a lot, but it looks perfect. He did a wonderful job. As usual, getting the jewelry put in was pretty yucky. It took him about 10 tries to get the ball on. It was just awkward because he was so close to my head, and as he pushed on my face, I leaned away from him, so my aunt who was on the other side of me pushed my head back towards him, so I was struggling a lot..just a big mess really. When he was all done he said, "Well I won't lie to you, I was a bit nervous...you were my first." and he sort of winked at me. Heh. I shook his hand and thanked him. When I got out into the store everyone wanted to see my ear, and they took a picture of it to keep handy. Erika said, "Well now when people ask me for a really unique piercing I have something new to show them!"
So if you go to High Octane on Wildwood's boardwalk, and they show you a vertical tragus, remember, I'M the one who started it all!!