Dirty Meanings

Guys, did you know that most people assume tongue piercings were received with a dirty reasoning behind them? Apparently they are used for unsavory acts that I cannot even imagine.

Well, nobody told me before I got mine! I know, I had talked myself out of my piercings, but right after my last final, my friends and I all went to the tattoo shop to get holes in our faces. Actually, one friend got nothing because she is about as pierced as you can get. Our other friend got 4 cartilage piercings between her two ears and I got a nose and tongue piercing.

After having dozens of people ask me why I did it, I got to thinking. With all of the pain of having a friend die, my brother move out, and me losing Best Friend (through my own fault), I wanted to have real pain that goes beyond what just my heart feels. That plan backfired. Neither one of my piercings hurt. I could feel the needle going through, but they did not hurt. Super. Maybe I should have gone with the cartilage? Maybe my pain tolerance is just too high. I just plumb don't know.

When I went and showed my parents, they already knew I was going to get piercings. They both exclaimed that I "actually got my nose done" and they laughed when I showed them my tongue. A few hours later my mom decided to explain the tongue ring... I was completely mortified! She and my brother had a great laugh on the phone about it a week or two after my conversation with her. Then I told my friends that I had not known the dirty connotation associated with it. Oh my goodness, they laughed so hard at me!

Why do people assume I know things that most people know? I am about as innocent as a 5 year-old. I laugh hysterically at burp, fart, and poop stories while I stare blank faced when someone tells a dirty joke. However, if you ask me about labor and delivery stuff, or some other type of medical thing, that's when I can finally contribute to the conversation and that is my passion. After 2 years and multiple attempts at explaining this to friends, plus the 20+ years with my family, you would think that they would know!

These people are stealing my innocence. Not cool bro.

Oh man, I went to the mall with my brother and a couple of his friends the other day. They went into this store that has an entire section of "dirty" toys. They were laughing and giggling at pictures of naked women and penis toys while all I could think of was anatomy. They started telling stories and all I could think about was why their story was medically unrealistic. Hookah was brought up and I went on a 5 minutes rant about how it's not actually as safe as they believe it is. I'm broken, I can't even have normal conversations anymore. I now know why nurses ban together and they/we can always find each other regardless of how big a crowd is. I was not expecting this for a few years after graduation from nursing school, but hey, it's here and I think I can live with it.

Piercings

About a month ago I started thinking about what it would be like to have a nose ring. It's in the Bible that ladies back in the Old Testament had nose rings sometimes. So, I looked into it a bit more and Jewish law has nothing against piercings. Then a couple of weeks ago I brought it up with my friends that I was thinking about it. Now we are planning to go on Friday after our last final...

I am also currently considering a belly button ring and possibly even a tongue ring. However, the more I think about it, the more reasons I find to not do it. I wasn't even super serious when I brought it up, it was more for laughs and giggles. Now it's real. I looked into a few places that do piercings here in town, but they have good and bad reviews.

I really scared about getting an STD. How terrible would it be to be a virgin my entire life but then get an STD from a stinkin' piercing because somebody didn't use proper sterile procedures and then I wouldn't want to get married or have kids because I would probably pass on the disease! Or what if they do it wrong and it is crooked? What if it gets infected and then I scar really bad? What if right after I get it then I regret it but then I will have a scar on my face, my tongue, or my belly button for the rest of my life? I'm just a simple, church-going girl that nobody expects to get piercings and they would probably look really weird on me anyway.

I talk myself into the piercing every morning and talk myself right back out of them every afternoon.

Tongue rings cause teeth and gum damage. Plus, I would have to put a spacer in for work and clinicals. Belly button rings get ripped out and are easily infected due to their location. Nose rings are ON YOUR FACE and would also require a spacer while at work and clinicals.

Is it weird that my main concern is not the fact that someone would be poking a whole in my body with a giant needle? My main worry is it being off-centered, not where I want it, and getting an STD or infection.

Nursing school has ruined me. Now I know what true sterile procedure looks like and what happens when it is not followed. I can see the bacteria I grew and stained from my microbiology class. I can see all of the slides of pictures and all of the information given to me about STD's. Then I look at myself and think, "is this really you?" But I have wanted lots of piercings since I was a little kid, but now it's really real and I am not so certain anymore. What would the kids that I babysit think? What will my Mema think? What would my future boyfriend/husband think? What would my kids think?

I wonder why I want piercings. Is it just because I found a rebelious, angry side that I was not aware of before Country Boy died and Brother moved out? Do I think it will liberate me from... something that I'm not fully aware of?

Wow, my neurotic anxiety is kicking into high-gear, huh?

More thought is needed and more prayer. I prayed about it, but maybe G-d is staying quiet to see what I will do again. Last time He did this I wasn't supposed to do what I was praying about (going out with Best Friend). Maybe I should swallow my pride and back out of getting piercings with my friends. If I do, it won't cause any more grief because I won't change from how I already am. But if I do go, then I will have at least 2-3 more holes in my body, plenty of pain and swelling, and I will have puncture wound scars if I decide to ever take them out. Looks like I talked myself out of them... Thanks for helping me guys!