Since the day a girl in my seventh grade class showed me her belly button piercing, I wanted one too. I asked my mother for one and she refused. After a month of pleading with her she agreed. I was glad the day she yes, but for three years after that she had been saying yes every time I asked.
At A Glance Author Kimberly Contact Kimberly@bme.anon When A month ago Studio Tattoo Seen Location Bronx I sat my mother down one day and talked about the piercing and why she would "Talk but not walk" We agreed to go to my doctor because I have Marfan's syndrome, which is a heart condition. My doctor said it was alright, but was confused about why I wanted it. I explained how I wanted to be different(but I did not tell him I wanted three navel rings for the future.)
Two months later, It was my sixteenth birthday and I had a big Sweet Sixteen party. The next day I was told that I would get it done next Saturday. I was so happy, but on Monday, a schoolmate accidentally sneezed on me. By the next day I was sick. My mother told my if I was sick I could not get it done. On Wednesday I skipped school and went to the doctor in pain. My doctor said I just had a really had cold. I missed the next day of school. On Friday, the day before the big day, my friends were happy to see me even though I came in between home room and first period. That night I went to Iona College to see my high school's basketball team play against another high school despite having small aches and little coughing spells. We won 66 to 45.
Finally the big day came. My mother said the night before we would go at noon. My mother was up all night so I had to wait passed twelve noon for her to wake up. When she finally woke up around one, we go dressed and left. Before we left I took my ipod with me. I prefer to listen to my ipod when I am riding in a car or bus. I was not nervous yet my mother was. She was scared that it might rip out of my navel like hers. When we got there we parked at the corner. There were three people waiting to get pierced ahead of me when we arrived. We waited in the lobby for about fourteen minutes. When the body piercer finally came from the back room and said "Belly button?" I raced to the back room with my mom right behind me.
We met my piercer, Paul. He told me to stand up and for three minutes he marked my navel to make it perfect. He commented about my navel, he asked if my umbilical cord fell off early. My mother, the registered nurse, said yes. Then he said he asked because of the ridge on my belly button. Then he finished and told me to lay across the table and lift my shirt. He cleaned the area and he put the clamps on. At the moment I was a little bit nervous and knew that the myth of the clamps hurting worse than piercing was true for me at that moment.
Suddenly I felt a sharp prick near the clamp and the piercer said that the worst was over. I looked at my mom and she ran to the table while he put the finishing touches on it. My mom said, "Oh, you do it like that?" He replied, "Yes, it must pass through the ridge." He said that because my navel has a ridge. I did not want my mom to see my face squished in minor discomfort. I closed my eyes. Then I opened them and stared at the ceiling. Paul then told me not to get up quickly. So I rested for a second and slowly slid off the table and to my feet.
When I stood up, he backed away. I slowly walked toward to door, to the mirror. I looked in the mirror and backed away because it was so beautiful. When I went to the table my vision went cloudy. My mom looked at me and asked me how I felt I did not answer and the piercer said that I should lay down because my endorphin levels rose and I was going to pass out. He sent my mom to get me juice and I requested apple juice. I laid back down on the piercing table. My eyes hurt, my vision began to clear up slowly. "How do you feel?" he asked. I told him that I was feeling better.
He asked me what other body modifications I wanted to purse. I have been dying for an industrial ear piercing. I told him about my ambitions and the asked him about an article on a piercing website about industrials and ears collapsing. He explained that it depends on the aftercare. In an instant my mom was back, with a carton of orange juice. She said they didn't have any. I was in shock that she came back so soon. My mother gave me the juice with the straw already in the hole. I drank and got my strength back.
I then got up and went to the mirror. I saw the banana bell and I was pleased. I rolled up my shirt and walked out with pride. I left that parlor thanking every staff member. When my mom and I walked to the car I sat down in the passenger's seat. I felt it throbbing in a pleasant way. I turned on my ipod and we drove off. I knew that I finally had the piercing that I waited three years for in a split second.