Something about the tongue piercing always intrigued me, so I researched it and decided I was going to have it done. I spent hours on BME and other sites looking into the process and healing... to be honest, I was scared. I didn't want to look back on my experience and have it be another horror story. Finally, I sucked it up and decided, my want to have it done measured far more than the butterflies in my stomach and all I needed to do was ask my dad to sign for it. I was only 17 years old and in Missouri you have to be 18 to do it legally. Now my dad is a strict religious guy but usually he lets me do things on my own if I myself made the decision it was a good idea. On this however, it blew up into a humongous fight.
At A Glance Author Sarah Contact CalamitysMaster00@hotmail.com When Two years ago Artist Chris Studio A-1 Tattoos Location Kansas City Missouri
"Why not wait till this summer, then you'll be 18 and I won't have to hear about it!" he yelled. "I'm not getting it because I'm 17 or 18, it's not about my age or I would wait dad, I simply want to have it done."
"That is against the bible and I won't sign for it," he replied.
"The thirteen disciples marked their bodies with ink as to advertise their devotion to Jesus... I think with a number of dots. Anyway dad, I'm not doing it to worship Satan or anything I am doing it because I am curious and I can always take it out!" I yelled.
For about an hour we argued back and forth and finally he gave up with that whole, "Well FINE!" So, I gleamed with joy as we drove to the parlor to have it done. I had saved my money and bought all the products for after care, I was ready. As my dad stepped into the tattoo shop, you could tell he felt out of place. I don't think he had ever been in that kind of shop before and he just stared at the walls, the people, and then at me. I could tell he didn't want to see his little girl all marked up and with tons of holes in her body.
I went into the back room and watched Chris, the piercer, do all the things that are said to be "right" on the web sites. He showed me his tools were brand new and clean, he sterilized everything and went over all the before-during-and after processes. Finally, he told me to stick my tongue out so as he could mark the spot. I could feel my stomach get all pukey.
He marked it with a purple dot and told me to see if it looked all right. I just kept thinking as I gleamed in the mirror, "Okay tongue... look at yourself now cause in ten minutes your going to have a big metal rod through you." That thought alone made my stomach even sicker. I began to breathe faster and in the few seconds I had been sitting there I had began to feel light-headed.
He told me to take two big breathes and it would all be over. First breathe, "Haaaa" (the needle went through). Second breath out, "Huuooooh" (the ring was in, and it was over). It was all over with. Suddenly I realized I couldn't swallow, and I couldn't do anything right. I couldn't talk, or move my mouth right, it all felt really weird at first.... But it didn't' hurt at all! I walked outside to the desk and I saw the thing that makes this particular experience stick out. I saw my dad crying.
He didn't want to sign those papers, and he didn't want me to do this. I honestly think he thought I wouldn't' go through with it, but I did. He wiped his eyes and said, "Well, let me see." As I stuck out my tongue to show him, drool poured out of my mouth and all down my shirt. I was so embarrassed! I looked at my dad and all he said, with a grin, was "well, that's attractive." He then turned to walk out of the parlor and I have never felt more awkwardly close to my dad like that ever. I don't think he was ashamed of me, just confused.
Now, two years later, I can say I still have my tongue ring. I don't have any chipped teeth, or gum problems. I don't have a lisp or any oral problems. Most of those myths are from people who didn't take care of themselves. Instead I have a whole new outlook on body modification and have added tattoos and more piercings to my list. My dad still sees me as his little girl, and neither of us have any regrets.