7 This past Christmas I went on the typical family vacation, this time to the outer banks. This was my first real vacation as a teenager so I got the privilege of being rebellious, solely based on that reason.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon Artist Bob Fischer Studio Island Dyes Location Outer Banks, NC The family had rented a house in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, where we were going to stay the week. The Outer Banks turns out to be DEAD in the winter, so we went looking for something to do. We drove down one street a couple times (there are very few major streets way out there) and drove past a place called "Island Dyes". The sign below it said "BODY PIERCINGS", so being a rebellious little teenager I decided to ask my mother to get my nose pierced.
"No! You can't get your nose pierced! You have to fit in!"
(I also have green hair- so fitting in isn't a possibility.)
After a great deal of argument she agreed to the eyebrow.
We walked into the place and I realized, "this is going to' hurt!"
But, I did it anyway. The guy who was going to pierce it had no piercings or tattoos himself- so I guess I felt a little bit safer. I gripped the seat that I had to be in when he was doing it- there must be claw marks left. I was terrified- I wanted a little shiny thing in my face, but I didn't want a needle putting it in there! What was I to do? I couldn't run out of there all of a sudden and say "I decided not to." After all that convincing, whining, and pleading? No way.
"Right or left side?" he said. I guess I must have said right because that's where it is- but I don't remember it. He drew two dots where the ring would go in. I paid no attention to them I kept thinking about the needle in my skin- ouch! He explained all the procedures to clean it before he did it, which I hope he didn't expect me to pay attention to. Finally I said, "How much is this going to hurt?"
I don't even know what his response was. He started saying something about how everyone has one chicken friend who has a piercing- just think about them. Of course I ignored him yet again.
Well no more waiting- he had to do it. I took a deep breath and clawed the chair.
In went the needle as I screamed, "Wait that didn't hurt!"
I kept opening my eye before he got the ring in, which is a big no-no, you do not want the needle through your eye. So here is a fourteen-year-old girl screaming "IT DOESN'T HURT!" with some guy missing a couple teeth here and there is screaming "DON'T OPEN YOUR EYE! STOP OPENING YOUR EYE! DO NOT OPEN YOUR EYE!"
>From now on I won't open my eye.
Now I have a pretty little silver thing in my eyebrow! I met a girl with many piercings who said, "I saw you and just had an instant bond- maybe it's the whole body modification thing!" It's like the sun hits it and a new person notices. A new person notices and I make a new friend!
But on the downside- they are addictive. Next endeavor: finger piercing.
But I'm getting off the topic. The day after I get my piercing we are again out looking for something to do! ANYTHING to do! Next interesting site was a tattoo parlor. Let me start off by saying- I will kill myself before I go through a mid-life crisis.
My mother decided that she would be rebellious too! It was vacation- or maybe something in the water. If her 14-year-old daughter can put some extra metal in her face why can't she put some extra ink in her ankle?
It took like two hours for this little beach scene in which the sand is on top of the water (WTF?). But I was too nice to tell her. We bonded while sharing a tube of Neosporin and helping each other clean our body modifications.
When we got home I think it was at like the same exact moment that we realized- we just got needles jabbed into us to either have a little messed up picture or a little shiny ring. (She also noticed that they reversed the sand and water thing- whoops.) I guess this was my one way of mother-daughter bonding.
The hardest part after getting pierced was the reactions I got from people. The worst is, "Does your mother know you did that?!" No! Of course not! I cover my eyebrow every time I see her. Of course she knows I did it.
Another great one is, "Hey, you got your eyebrow piered. Dude that's awesome. I've got my nipple pierced." (That was three people! Three people just go- "Hey I've got my nipple pierced!")
No matter how other people feel about it. I still love my little shiny thing!