Piercings? Tattoo's? No, thanks!

I got my first piercing at 13. I remember going with my stepdad to get my fresh lobes pierced. Before I left, I kept asking my mom "What's it feel like again?" And having her pinch my ear to give me an idea of the pain I was about to feel. But when the time came to sit in the chair where soon a piercing gun would be held up to the side of my face, I was calm. And as the earing went through, I thought "That's it?!" I had phsyched myself out for nothing!

That was the day that my addiction surfaced and I became obsessed.

I now have each ear pierced five times, with my first holes being gauged.

To accompany my stylish ears, I decided I wanted to get a facial piercing. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to pierce, and finally decided upon my eyebrow. Sure enough, when I was 16, my mom took me to get it pierced on the condition that I don't pierce anything else until I turn 18.

I held up to my end of the bargain, and just recently pierced my lip.

But my mom had said piercings; she never mentioned tattoo's. When I was 17, I got my first tattoo on the back of my neck. Like with my eyebrow, it was on the condition that I don't get another one until I turn 18.

Three months later, I got my second tattoo on my left wrist.

My mothers reaction of my, clearly, new obsession was predictable: "How do you expect to get a job like that?"

I have no response. She's right. How do I expect to get a job with my body art?

It got me thinking about society and their judgements about facial piercings and tattoo's. I think it's ridiculous that a person can't express themselves and still have an equal opportunity for a job. They are slowly becoming more tolerable; most jobs limiting facial piercings to one. But what about those who have more?

I would love to one day walk into a classroom where my teacher had a facial piercing or wasn't required to cover any tattoo's. While they could be a distraction due to the initial shock of seeing a teacher like that, I feel that I would be able to relate more to them. Knowing that they are more than a superior figure and are allowed to express themselves in the ways they choose would not only have me respecting them more, but also the people who hired them!

I don't feel that people should be limited in how they express themselves due to the fear of unemployment. I get into a car accident? Hire me a lawyer with tattooed arms! I have a cold? Get me a doctor with a pierced nose!

I hope that society will become more accepting of body art, and freedom of expression in anyway, one day. To live in a world where people weren't looked at as unprofessional because of a couple piercings here or tattoo's there would be a dream come true.