On May 15, 2004 I decided to spend the night at my best friend Ashley's house. We stayed up late talking, laughing, and having a good time with her sister, Diane.
At A Glance Author Tee Miller Contact teesokrazy21@yahoo.com When A week ago Artist My Best Friend Ashley Studio Her Living Room Location Clewiston, Fl The next morning we woke up around 10 and Ashley wanted to take a shower. I have known Ashley and her family our whole lives so I had no problem being left with them while she took her shower. I got bored and decided while she was finishing I would play around on her computer.
About five minutes after she got out of the shower she walked into her computer room and told me to follow her. Not thinking anything of it, I got up and went with her into her living room. Her and Diane looked at me and Ashley asked me if I wanted my bellybutton pierced because she could pierce it for me. My first reaction was the she was crazy but as the three of us talked more about it, I started wanting it more and more by the second. Finally, I agreed to let them pierce it. Ashley walked into her mom's room and told her mom what we were going to do. Her mom then went and got one of her bellybutton rings, a wash cloth, gloves, and a taxidermy needle, which is basically looks like a 14 gauge sewing needle except it has 3 blades on it. Once I saw the needle I was instantly skeptical. Diane is the kind of person that will tell you the brutal truth and when she said it would hurt like hell I contemplated not having it done. Ashley took me aside and reminded me that my mom is the kind of person that does not like piercings or tattoos and that if I backed down now I would only be giving in to what my mom wants and with that said I knew if I did not let the three of them do it I would regret it in the end.
So while Ashley held my skin, her mom inserted the needle and then the ring. When the needle went in I felt a sudden tingly feeling throughout my entire body. I started to feel light headed and dizzy. I remember saying I needed a glass of water and I remember hearing Ashley's mom tell her to give me something to bite down on and that's it. The next thing I remember I was laying on Ashley's coach with my shirt lifted up enough so I could see my bellybutton and looking over and seeing Ashley and Diane sitting next to me.
It was over! I had gotten through, what I thought was, all the pain and I finally had what I had wanted since I was around 10, my bellybutton pierced.
The problem then was what will be my mom's reaction. Over the next two weeks I told everyone at school and was always flaunting around campus. Then, when I got home I simply hid it. Until one day my mom's cell phone rang. It was someone from school that would not tell their name but they had ratted me out. I told my mom I was sorry and she eventually agreed to let me leave it in.
The problem is, over the past year it has gotten caught on almost everything I wear, snagged on towels when I get out of the shower, and gotten infected, at the least, once a month. On March 18, 2005 I was involved in a 'Ghost Out' for my local chapter of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions). We were supposed to act as if we were dead by standing in the exact middle of our school completely still and expressionless. Our hands had to be placed either in front of our stomachs, behind our backs, or by our sides. I'm a bit heavy so I naturally placed then in front of my stomach as an attempt to try to camouflage my weight. After a few minutes standing like that I eventually got tired and went to move my hand to my sides. I was wearing a bangel bracelet that day and as I moved my hands my bangel caught on my bellybutton ring and ripped it almost completely out.
For almost two weeks I treaded it just as it was a new piercing again. I cleaned it 2 or 3 times a day with Bactine and did not change it. But for some reason it would not heal back up. I finally got tired of constant pain no matter what I did.
Getting my bellybutton pierced was not a bad experience. I enjoyed buying new rings and always looking for different ones that I did not have. I plan to get it re-pierced, by a professional, over the summer along with my nose. I have definitely learned a lot about taking care of my body and any piercing I have or plan to get over the past year.