Rebellion

When I was younger I had always wanted to get my ears pierced. I thought it would look cool, and be somewhat rebellious. I remember asking my parents when I was 14 if I could get my ears pierced, and they refused. According to them pierced ears sent out a “negative” image to some people and that it was not appropriate for my age. I thought that this was ridiculous considering that four of my cousins had their ears pierced with giant diamond studs, and they were the same age as me. If they had them why couldn’t I? My dad had piercings back in the 80’s, and he said that when I was older would eventually regret it. As a professional working for the State of Utah, he said that the marks left on his ear lobes were still somewhat visible and a burden from his youth. So I let it go, but I always wondered what it would be like.

A little over a year ago, I woke up one Thursday morning and decided that I was going to gauge my ears. It was the first thought that came into my mind when I woke up, I didn’t even give it a second thought. It was a couple weeks before my 20^th birthday, so I though it would be a nice present to myself. So I texted two of my friends and asked them to come with me, because I did not know what to expect. I immediately made the appointment for that following Saturday. The next day at work, I asked my supervisor what was the company’s policy on piercings. At that time I was working in a restaurant as a lower shift manager, and my boss said that they did not like it, but they couldn’t do anything about it if I wanted to, just that the piercings needed to be modest.

So that Saturday I went into Koi piercing studio, the best place that I knew to get it done. My sisters had always come here for their piercings, and so have most of my friends. The place was clean and the staff was very professional. One of the piercers, Mike, called me into his room after I had picked out the pair that I wanted. I sat on the table waiting as Mike was disinfected my ears and marked my lobes. I was starting out small with a 14 gauge, but I was a little nervous. Then Mike said, “Take a deep breath” and as I breathed the gauge went into one ear, and then another breath, in went the other. My ears stung and then went numb, and then throbbed for about five minutes. The pain went away quickly and my ears felt normal within 10 minutes. My parents knew what I was doing that morning, but when they realized that I had the intention of stretching out my ears just up to an 8 gauge, they freaked. My mother tried to tell me that this would have an affect how people will view me and how future employers and professionals will see me. I told them that it was not a big deal, that they were small, could close up easily, and that I did not plan on having them forever. So for the next couple of weeks, my dad and my uncles teased me about them, even my sick grandfather jokingly said, “If I could get up out of this bed I would rip those from your ears.” All of my cousins however liked my gauges, and I felt happy about them.

I wondered what possessed me to get it done so sudden. Was this a phase of rebellion? Following a trend? Simple curiosity? I guess it was more than just curiosity. I think the opposition from others fueled a little rebellion. Today piercings are pretty common among males, especially between the ages of 18-25. However to most people in college piercings are not a big deal, but once I get older would this effect my career? Such as future job prospects and opportunities?