oh, you don't like that??

So in typical 2016 the world seems to regress.....when I say that I mean in terms of acceptance.  Today is my little rant about how the world only perceives what they want.....in general, in appearance.  So it's no secret that I have a few piercings, it's actually something unexpected that I have found that I like.  No biggie........well, in the world of others it seems to be huge.  I walk through Target or Wal-Mart (of all places) and receive odd stares and people shaking their heads.  I've had people tell me that I have ruined my face with a nose piercing.....or junked my ear up with piercings.  Let me start off by telling you I don't give a flying f*#k what your opinion is!!  I didn't get these piercings so that you could feel comfortable and enjoy them!!  People believe that piercings forever ruin your life, first off a piercing is not a forever choice.  It can be, but most piercings will heal up if taken out!!  So forever, no.......as time goes on maybe I won't care for one (not likely but ya never know) and will take it out.

Some people believe that dirty, unkept people have piercings.  Maybe some do, but most people do not realize that you have to clean a fresh piercing very regularly to keep the risk of infection and rejection out.  For the first few weeks piercings need to be cleaned at least twice a DAY!!  Kinda sounds like a lot of cleaning to me, not kept dirty!!  People with piercings must maintain them, meaning keep tabs on how they are doing.  I notice a day that my piercing seems dry, or sometimes I get a little makeup around my nose piercing that I clean (I clean it out EVERY NIGHT!!)  My tragus hasn't been a huge issue, I make sure every couple of days that the stone is screwed in and check the back for funk and move on with my day.

Will I ever get a job??  Honestly no clue!!  Probably not with the stuck up snobs of the world today!!  Which is a great reason to work from home!!  lol  Would I take my piercings out for a job??  Hmmm, that would have to be a pretty amazing job that I am IN LOVE with to do so.  So chances of that are pretty slim.  I hope that someday people can look past appearance and see that not all pierced people are terrible people.  Honestly as long as I can remember I have been intrigued with people with piercings and tattoos, staring at them.  I had always hoped that I could understand myself enough to be as confident as those individuals!!  I mean come on, you have to have confidence to strut your stuff and not give 2 shits about what people think about you!!  I remember going to the mall in St. Cloud, MN where there was this man that worked in Hot Topic......let me tell you, this man was a work of ART!!  He had countless piercings, I think he may have even lost count of all of them....I mean TONS!!  Down his head, ears, nose, lips....you name it, it had some bling somewhere!!  Anyways, I remember watching him, at the time Haley was probably about 2-3 years old, she was in complete awe......lol  she had never seen anything like him before and never has again.  I wish I would have stepped out of my comfort zone and talked to him, asked him if he knew how many piercings he had and which hurt the worst.  He was truly amazing!!  I'm sure he had his fair share of reducule from many people, but he never let anything other than confidence show.

Have I hit some sort of mid-life crisis??  Possibly, but not going to blame any tattoo or piercing on that.  I think I've just finally begun to discover who I am, yes I am a sweet, quite girl who for the most part keeps to herself.  But I am also a little dark on the inside........

My 16 year old has piercings as well, I have taken her to get them as the state of Iowa does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to be pierced without consent from a legal guardian (believe me they will make you turn around and drive home and get the required paperwork!)  ;)  So maybe this is our bonding activity, most parents take their kids to the park or a concert....well, I take mine to the tattoo shop for a piercing!!    Is it a bad thing??  I don't think so, it teaches her to be responsible, to take care of herself.  We recently got our industrials done (which I will hopefully get up next week) together, I think it helps to have someone get work done at the same time, almost like a buddy system.  We hold each other accountable and have someone first hand to ask questions and compare!! :)  When she wanted her nose pierced at the age of 15 people told me I was nuts!!  Yep I am, but I'm also the mom who believes that if you're willing to take care of it then we will talk.  I had people tell me to make her wait until she was 18 to make a decision, not sure that would have worked out, she has a friend who pierced her own nose TWICE because her mom didn't take her......yep, professional vs. self......

As far as tattoos go, yes I've only gotten one (with more on the list of "to do") yes people have things to say about it.  Yes it's shaky and there is a very thick ink line on my wrist bone (I've been told it's scaring from going in too deep) but I LOVE my tattoo!!  He symbolizes something that is important to me, not anyone else, ME!!  It's not offensive, it's not hurting anyone else!!  Yes I am a woman with a tattoo~get over it!!

 Does having piercings and a tattoo make me a bad parent??  hahahahaha......I laugh at that one!!  Nothing that I put in or on my body is going to EVER change how much I love my kiddos!!  If anything I believe it makes me love them more, I realize that I am setting an example (a colorful one) but the good ol' not judging a book by it's cover.  My kids know that just because you look one way doesn't define who you are on the inside!!  If that is the only lesson my kids learn from piercings and tattoos then so be it!!  At least they won't be so judgmental......