Yeah, I know I've got this earring (and tattoo, by the way) and some people think it's cool and some think it's weird. There are mornings when I face the mirror and I think that I look pretty cool and sometimes I look and think, "Oh man, what have I done?" My parents had a major freak-out attack over both and I got an infection (really, no big deal) from the earring. So all in all, I figure that I'm pretty qualified to talk about the subject of body art (piercing and tattooing). But the main thing is not to talk, but to ask. ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
You may think that creating an additional hole in your bod is no big deal, but it is a pretty major decision when you get to really thinking about it, like:
ARE YOU DOING IT FOR YOURSELF, BECAUSE YOU WANT IT OR BECAUSE YOU THINK YOUR FRIENDS WILL THINK IT'S COOL?
Let's be real here-fads and friends are sometimes temporary, so if you're gonna do it, don't do it for some girl who may not even look at you next semester or because it happens to be this week's craze. I mean, this is your body that we're talking about here!
As the saying goes, "Cool today, gone tomorrow" There was once this American President (name withheld to protect the innocent.) He was a respectable kind of guy (Monica Lewinsky wouldn't look at him twice). Anyway as it turned out, he had a butterfly tattooed on his butt. Major national embarrassment!! I mean like some people just won't vote for a President with a bug on his butt.
Are you doing it for yourself, because youwant it or because tou think your friends will think it's cool?
Okay, so maybe you don't plan on being president, but somewhere in the future, the girl of your dreams may not think the ring in your thing and the rose on your nose is so cool. REMEMBER PIERCING AND TATTOOING IS SORT OF PERMANENT (unless you opt to go under the knife). At least when you change your hair and clothes style you can always go back.
ARE YOU WILLING TO LIVE WITH IT NO MATTER WHAT (mistakes, infections)? Ear piercing is pretty standard stuff, but piercing ANYTHING goes today and with that comes the increased risk of infections and some of this stuff makes the X-Files sound like a kid's nursery rhyme, like: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Tuberculosis bacterium, Tetanus, and even viruses that cause Hepatitis B,C, and D.
ARE YOU READY TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF THE PIERCED AREA?.
DO YOU WANT THIS BAD ENOUGH TO TAKE FLAK FROM YOUR PARENT OR PARENTS? My biggest regret is that I didn't discuss this with my parents first, 'cause as cool as my Mom is, she totally lost it on this one. I mean, she got over it (I'm still working on Dad), but still, she was pretty hurt and seeing as we can discuss almost anything together, I guess we could have talked about this first and avoided a lot of painful fallout.
Now back to the original question: IS BODY PIERCING (AND/OR TATTOOING) COOL? Well, if you've gone over all the above questions and considerations and you still want to do it, then YES, it's cool. BUT, after going through all the above stuff, you've decided against piercing (or tattooing) or you just want to give it some more thought, then THAT'S ALSO COOL. BUT if you decide to ignore all relevant questions and concerns and still do it, then THAT IS VERY UNCOOL.
It's in your hands (or ear or nose, or eyelid, etc...). Good Luck.
