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This is the sad saga of my tongue. My first experience with body
piercing when I was about 13, and my friend who lived in a different
town than me came to visit. She had a pierced navel, and I was revolted.
A year later, after watching Alicia Silverstone pierce hers thousands of
times on that "Crazy" or "Crying" video, and having to write an essay
for my dad on why I wanted to do it, I pierced my navel.
But on to the tongue. One thing that I swore I'd never do was pierce my
tongue. When I was 14, this guy in my class had his pierced, and I
thought it was disgusting. The next year I met a girl who had her navel
and tongue pierced. I was intrigued. I toyed with the idea, never
seriously, for a few monthes. Then, when I was 16, I wrote an article
for our school paper on body piercing. This fueled my desire to pierce
something else. Since I wanted something that I didn't have to show
everyone, and nipples and genitals were out of the question, the obvious
answer was my tongue. The next problem was my parents. But the place
where I got it done (which was wonderful, more information coming), let
you get it done without parental permission if you were 16 or over. So
not telling anyone, I made an appointment.
The day of the piercing (as soon as possible) I was nervous, but
excited. It was the first spontaneous thing that I had done totally on
my own. I went to the same woman who had pierced my navel and my upper
ear, and who I had interviewed for my story, with a little stuffed bear
for company. I went into the back room, and she showed me all of the
tools that were used for the piercing, and what everything did. I sat
back in the chair, beginning to think that this maybe wasn't such a
great idea. My tongue was held still with a clamp, and rinsed out with
listerine to numb it (I think). She gave me aromatherapy, and counted to
three, than pierced my tongue. It stung. It hurt less than getting my
ears pierced. I paid the $90, and then went and bought the listerine
that would be my new best friend.
After a few hours it started to hurt, and it was swollen, but it wasn't
outrageous pain. I think it was sort of itchy, but it's hard to
remember. That day, I managed to eat *very* slowly, though it hurt a bit
after meals. My mom was away for the weekend, so I didn't have to endure
dinner with the family, luckily.
I ended up telling my friend that night, even though I thought I'd keep
it quiet. Even her preppie boyfriend thought it was sort of cool!
I was loving this new addition, and quite happy, until my mom came home
the next day. Five minutes into my first conversation with her, she saw
it.
My mom took away the car, and my dad said that if I didn't take it out,
I wouldn't be going to Hawaii with the family (something we never did,
by the way). I don't live with my dad, but if I did, he said that I'd be
grounded until I took it out. My mom said that she would give me the
money that it cost if I took it out. Finally I relented, after two
blissful weeks of being with this incredible pieced of metal that caused
so much fuss.
It's almost a year later and I miss my tongue ring immensly. My mom said
that she couldn't stand to look at me knowing I had a piece of metal in
my mouth. I'm still working on her. If you have any suggestions, e-mail
me at rubys_eyes@hotmail.com. If you can pierce your tongue, do it.
Sarah
Experience Added 03/11/99