[June, 1987] Holes in My Ears
6)13)87
Dear Diary,
today I got my ears pierced. It hurt a little but it’s worth it.
Beauty is pain...yeah, I hate it when people say that too.
It only took a little over a year, but I got my nerve back and decided a little pain was worth a lifetime of accessorizing. The way I remember it, my parents took me to a costume jewelry shop akin to Claire’s and I picked out a pair of studs. My earlobes were first dotted with a felt-tip pen, then I felt the brief sting of the piercing gun twice, and then my days of clip-ons were over.
That’s not how my mother tells it.
I got the beginning part right, but when that first post cut through the tender skin of my earlobe, according to my mother I let out a shriek so loud I scared the other customers in the store. Allegedly, I cried out in agony and stubbornly refused to get my second ear pierced. If you care to believe my mom’s version, she says it took a good 15 minutes for her and my father to calm me down and convince me that I would look silly going around with an earring in one ear and a black dot where the other stud should be.
Being a sucker for logic (and symmetry), I allowed the woman in the woman in the store to pick up her instrument of torture and finish the job, suffering quietly through the rest of the procedure. A mirror was held before me so that I could see the results.
Whatever pain I felt vanished the second I saw the sparkle of those stones in my earlobes. So pretty! I turned my head back and forth to watch them glimmer and smiled.
When friends asked, I told them it didn’t hurt that much. And apparently, I lied about it to my diary, too.
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The Diary Project 
I remember getting my first pair of ear piercings. I think I was seven. I remember screaming at the first one, being given a glass of water and similar arguments from my mom about needing to pierce the other one to match.
I also remember I got a bad infection as well.
Funny though, now I HATE even ear piercings with 7 (soon to be 8) holes on one ear and 4 (plus the 2-holed ear project) on the other… 😛 haha
I’m glad I wasn’t the only crybaby. 🙂
My parents were strict about additional piercings, though I could’ve probably finagled getting second ones in my ears. But I figured it would just be extra hassle to figure out earrings for two sets of holes, so I kept the one. Now I don’t even wear earrings every day.
This is such an awesome idea for a site. I’m glad I found it.
Your ear piercing story sounds exactly like mine, from the Claire’s-ish store to the bursting into tears. I was 10 years old too. Weird.
I was so traumatized by situation, I still haven’t gotten any more piercings or even tattoos. And I’m almost 29.
I don’t have a clear memory of getting my ears pierced. I remember that the first time I got them pierced I went without wearing earrings for a long time and I had to get them re-pierced. Unfortunately I’ve grown to be sensitive to earrings, so I can’t wear them anymore. 😦
I rarely wear earrings now, myself. And when I do, I always worry it’s been so long, the holes closed up.