Body Modification

Why is it when I really want something I never do anything about it. This comment encompasses myriad things, but right now it is directed at one thing: piercing my nose. I have always wanted to do this, but have never had the courage. Multiple times I have walked to Strange City (a tattoo and piercing parlor) to have my nose pierced, but found myself walking past the doors. I just couldn’t bring myself to go in. However, twice I actually went in, but was unsuccessful in actually having my nose pierced. This happened because of two reasons: 1) they were too busy, and 2) my nose was slightly swollen (because I must have hit it in my sleep).

It is not that I am afraid of the piercing instrument nor the potential pain that may be associated with it; it is the post-piercing effects that truly scare me. I don’t like the idea that I could scar, develop the ominous, hideous bump, or that the stud may slightly hang out of my nose (until it heals and then I can have it sized properly). In addition to the aesthetics appearance, there’s the professional appeal. Lately I have been thinking about what I actually want to do with my life after my masters. I may go into consulting, work with government or non-government organizations, or try teaching high school science. The question that arises is: would a nose piercing be unprofessional? All of these factors contribute to my uneasiness about nose piercing.

After all of this, I have come to the conclusion that next week I am going to get my nose pierced. Well, with my track record (number of times I chickened out beats successful entry into the piercing building) I hope I will be able to!

Now the next thing to do is determine what side I want pierced. My friend told me that you should pierce the side that feels right. Meaning one side should out way the other. But I don’t favour one side over the other. Hmmm, this shouldn’t be a hard decision.

Coinciding with the nose piercing decision, I am also in-decision about tattoos. Someday I think that I will get a tattoo. But first I have to figure out where I want it and what I want. Currently I would like to get some kind of frog tattoo on or around my ankle/foot. But this is still up in the air.