I suppose I'll introduce myself. My name is Aubree and I am 17 years old. I'm not sure why I've waited so long to start writing my experiences up, but I adore BME and I thought I'd do this just for kicks and giggles. Among others, my main interests are body art, debate and reading modern philosophy. I guess you could say that I'm your average geek. :) Now on to the experience. At the age of 13, my fascination with body modifications became apparent. It started with convincing my parents to allow me to get a few more ear piercings. A few turned into six. Finally, I decided my ears looked absolutely beautiful, so it was on to a navel piercing. This, however, didn't go over so well with my parents. Being slightly closeminded, they assumed that my obsession with piercings was due to my peers. Instead of believing that I wanted to do it for myself, they decided I must be doing it for acceptance (which couldn't be more untrue.) I explained over and over that it was s omething that would make me happy, but they simply rolled their eyes and ignored me. I was never told specifically not to pierce myself, so I took full advantage of that (with no disrespect toward my parents in mind, just a yearning for independence and happiness and the thing that made me happiest was body modification) and began to research it in further detail.
At A Glance Author Aubree Contact kritik_this@hotmail.com When Six months ago Artist Myself Location Boise, Idaho With that in mind, I decided to pierce my own navel. I ordered all the supplies online and I can honestly say, the day they arrived in the mail was one of the happiest days of my life. I excitedly rushed to the bathroom and inspected the package. It contained a 14g hollow needle, a 14g CBR, ring openers and closers, a pair of disposable forceps and an alcohol swab. After marking myself with a black Sharpie pen, I took a deep breath and pierced it. It wasn't spectacular, but it brought a smile to my face. For at least a week, I had the silliest grin on my face and happily showed off my new piercing. My parents cringed a bit, but my mom later admitted she thought it was "kind of cute, I guess" but I thought it was wonderful. For several months, I was content with my ear and navel piercings--somehow my parents learned to accept them and they never questioned my fascination with them again--then I discovered piercing websites such as BME and others. I browsed through th e galleries with awe, especially intrigued by navel projects and multiple and stretched piercings. I thought to myself, "Why waste the skin by leaving it unpierced?"
That experience, alone at 3 AM, surfing through pictures of navel projects, is what sparked my amazing journey into body modifications. Over the years, I've acquired 19 piercings, all done by myself, occasionally with the assistance of a friend or two. From head to, ahem, below the belt, I was pierced and even scarred and tattooed (these were done by friends, as they were in locations that were hard for me to do myself) I've also stretched several of my piercings, including my first navel piercing, which is currently an 8g. However, of all my modifications, I can say that one is my very favorite, and that is my quad-pierced navel.
As I wrote earlier, I got my first standard navel piercing at the age of 13. About a year later, I decided to pierce the bottom of my navel. However, this proved to be quite a challenge. I had seen numerous pictures of this piercing, but I wasn't sure how to go about piercing it. I decided, after much deliberation, that lying flat on my back with my head propped up against a pillow was the easiest position. With a 14g needle in hand, it slid easily through. I will say, however, that it hurt far worse than my first navel piercing, perhaps because of the awkward angle and the fact that it had to be deeper in order to achieve the look I wanted. I decided that a 14g curved barbell would be appropriate.
At the age of 16, I made the conclusion that my navel still needed more, so I attempted to pierce the left side of my navel. The piercing looked awesome-- but it migrated out and left me with a nasty scar that nearly deterred me from trying again. However, less than a month later, I repierced under the scar tissue with a 14g CBR and followed that up with a matching piercing on the right side.
I'm not quite sure why I love my navel piercings so much more than the rest. They're certainly nothing unique, but they are something that I can say, first, that I did myself, and second, that it's truly beautiful. They're so simple and plain, but I never get tired of waking up and seeing them and thinking, "Wow." I often laugh at the thought of doing something like this for the pleasure of someone else-- the soul is lightened by such modifications, indeed, but it's not at all for the benefit of anyone other than yourself. I keep that in mind everytime someone asks me if I do this for attention, although sometimes it's difficult to keep a straight face.
I'd like to remind everyone, however, that I don't encourage or endorse self-piercing. It can be dangerous and I've just been lucky that I haven't injured myself. Always use your best discretion. Happy piercing, everyone :)