I'd been talking about getting my belly button pierced for quite some time before I actually did it. I'd seen a lot of friends' piercings and I thought they looked pretty cool, but I was too much of a wimp to get it done myself. Then, towards the end of my final year of school, I decided that I definitely wanted it done. I asked my Mum and she said she didn't like belly rings but that if I paid for it myself, I could get it done. The only condition was that I had to wait until my VCE exams were over. (These are the single most important exams in a Victorian's school life, because the results are used for university entrance).
At A Glance Author Butterfly Contact Butterfly@bme.anon When A month ago Artist I don't know her name Studio At the Cowes Hairdressing, that also does piercings Location Cowes, Phillip Island, off the Victorian coast, Australia After exams were finished (a big YAY!), I went away with friends for the long anticipated "Schoolies" week to celebrate big time! We went to a friend's beach house on Phillip Island to spend a week of drinking, relaxing and sleeping, best of all without any adult supervision. While on a walk around the small township of Cowes one morning (our mornings began at around midday by this stage!), we passed a hairdresser that said they did "Upper Body Piercing." My friends had heard my talk of getting my belly button done, so they said to go in and ask how much it was. I was too scared, so I went in with one friend and she asked for me. It was $50, which a lot cheaper than any prices I had found out back in Melbourne.
My friend and I met up with the others in the shop next door. One friend suggested, why I just get it done now? I had no answer to this so the next thing I knew, I was in the piercing shop, my friends telling the lady that I wanted my belly button done. She asked me did I really want it done and I said yes rather hesitantly. The lady called the piercer over, a young girl with piercings all the way up her ear and in her nose. She looked at my belly button to see if it was pierce-able and said that it was.
I wanted one of my friends to come with me but the girl said firmly that she preferred if people went alone. So, with a nervous glance back at my friends, I followed the girl out to a back room. First I had to sign some forms. The strange thing is, she never asked me how old I was. I think the legal age is 16 in Victoria, so maybe she thought I looked at least 16, even though I'm always told I look really young!! Go figure! I had to answer a series of questions such as "Have you ever fainted?" (no), "Have you had alcohol in the last 6 hours?" (No, it must be just more than that since last night!), etc,. etc. That done, I had to stand up and she put the clamp on and made the marks. The clamp bloody hurt! Clamp off, and I was asked if the marks looked alright. I didn't really know, I just said yes because I wanted this to be over. The girl said it might be a little crooked because of the way my belly button was, but I was past caring. During this time, I started to get really hot and feel dizzy. I almost fainted, before it was even done. I was sat down and given cool water to drink. It was suggested that I shouldn't get it done today, maybe come back some other time. But I was not going to hear of it. Having come this far, I knew I wouldn't come back if I left now and I really wanted it done.
So, I climbed up onto the bed and lay staring at the ceiling. I wouldn't watch any of it because I knew I'd likely be sick if I did. The clamp hurt, then the needle went through and I have never felt anything so painful! It bled quite a lot, so she had to go change gloves. Then she put the ring through, which hurt some more and the ball was put on and it was finally over (in reality, it had only taken a couple of minutes!). I was told to sit up slowly, because otherwise I might faint. I was given more cold water to drink and the aftercare was explained. I had a bandage put over it because it was still bleeding. It still hurt HEAPS! But it looked great! After a quite bite to eat, my friends and I went down onto the beach. Here, I sat with the salt water just covering my belly button. It was cold and it stung a bit but it ended up helping it. It looked heaps better and hurt less after this. I swam inn the salt water every day for the rest of the holiday, which helped the pierc ing quite a lot, I think!
My belly button stopped hurting after the first day, except when it was knocked or had pressure on it. I absolutely love it! I'm so glad I got it done, although I'm not sure I'd ever want to go through that pain again. Soon, I'm going to get it changed to a barbell, I could only get it pierced with a ring at the place I went to. It's healing really well and I'm so proud of it! It's a symbol of finally finishing school forever and going out on my own and making my own decisions.