My Piercings + Earring Collection

The reason why I love getting piercings is because they make me feel like I’m in control of my own life. I got my first set of lobe piercings when I was in the fourth grade as a birthday gift (took a lot of pleading on my part to my parents), but I was discouraged from getting more after that. In high school, I really wanted my cartilage pierced, but I knew my parents wouldn’t approve of it due to their culture and upbringing (I was also scared because my cousin told me when I was younger that someone lost their eyesight by getting a bad cartilage piercing – I have no idea if this is true or not). It wasn’t until my study abroad year that my friend convinced me to get one with her. I was super nervous both from the anticipated pain (and the blindness scare from my cousin – again, I have no idea if this is actually true or not, but I can’t deny that it still freaked me out a bit) as well as doing something I knew my parents would not approve of; however, it was something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, so thank you Vivian for telling me it wouldn’t hurt and for holding my hand during the piercing process. I remember being very pleasantly surprised that there actually was no pain at all when the needle went through. I didn’t even realize it was over because I felt nothing at all. I was so excited that I finally did what I was so scared to do for so many years; the rush of adrenaline was unreal. It truly felt so liberating to do what I wanted to my own body. To most people, it may be just a single piercing, but to me, it symbolized the breaking of invisible chains.

My mom found out when we were on a video call together and she noticed before I mentioned anything. She was a bit distraught and asked me to promise her I wouldn’t get any more. I didn’t want to lie, so I laughed it off, telling her I couldn’t promise anything. I could tell she didn’t really like what I had done to my body, but I felt more empowered now to do what I want and live how I want. My mom found out about next piercing in the same manner. She asked “is that another piercing?” and I just replied “yup!” This time, she just laughed it off and the rest is history. I can’t remember exactly, but I think my dad found out in person after I returned home from study abroad with all piercings. He noticed my conch piercing (he already knew about my cartilage and lobe piercings) and was like “is that a piercing IN your ear?” to which I responded “yup!” I don’t know if it was because we were outside with another family at the time, but he was chill about it too. Maybe, like my mom, he gave up and stopped caring about it. All in all, they know about my piercings, and it’s not a big deal anymore.

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I currently have seven piercings – a pair of standard lobes, a pair of second lobes, a double helix/cartilage on my left ear, and a conch on my right. I remember heat suddenly rushing to my face when I got my first set of lobes; I can’t exactly remember if there was any pain, but if there was, it was definitely tolerable since I remember not crying. The second set of lobes stung, but it was tolerable. Unlike the first cartilage piercing, my lower helix did sting a bit. As for my conch, I remember a second push was required for the needle to fully go through since my cartilage is thicker in that area. The great part though was that while my lobes and cartilage piercings continued to sting during the healing process and would get caught in my hair, the conch piercing, although it hurt a bit more during the piercing process, there was no pain at all during the healing process. I do plan on getting some more, but I haven’t quite figured out what I want yet. I’m thinking an industrial on my right and a tragus as well as a forward helix on my left. I’m also playing around with the idea of a double helix on my right ear and maybe a third pair of lobes. I am considering an inner conch on my left ear, too. I wish I gave more thought on the overall placement before I got my piercings, but oh well, it is what it is.

I didn’t include the piercings I currently have on in my the photos above in my collection photos below. I currently have on a matching pair of rose gold chain drop earrings on each of my lobes; an Aries constellation, a moon with a chain drop star, and a small hoop on my left ear; and a blue jewel planet with tiny stars and a small barbell stud on my right ear. My first pair of lobe piercings are a standard 18-gauge, and the rest are 16-gauge. I like earrings with twist-on ball backs because they look cleaner than butterfly backs. I don’t mind butterfly backs for my first pair of lobes, but I personally find that too many on one ear can be a bit messy. The ball backs just look like barbell studs and make for a nicer appearance in my opinion. I also prefer rose gold jewelry since it gives off a romantic, softer vibe. I do have a good number of gold earrings, and I like having those on hand for a more refreshing, cool look. I pretty much avoid silver since I don’t think it looks good on my golden complexion.

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Just for fun, I thought I’d end the post by sharing my storage methods. I used to store all my earrings in a plastic earbuds case that came with my old phone, but as my collection grew, I’ve had to transition to a larger storage container. I currently use this pink jewelry case, and I separate the earrings by style as shown above. I use the ring section to organize and display my 16-gauge earrings. I still use the earbuds case from time to time as I find it helpful for travel since I don’t need to take my entire collection with me. While this set up is nice, I’m finding that I may need to get another storage case as my collection recently grew. I’ll be sharing my new earrings in subsequent posts, so stay tuned if you’re interested!