My Industrial Piercing

Hello all!

A few days ago (August 15, 2013), I got an industrial piercing done on my left ear. I'd wanted it for years now and after researching it deeply, I decided to go ahead and get it done. Now, industrials are not something to lightly do. They take an extremely long time to heal (minimum is 6 months, more than likely you'll be babying it for a year or more). They're prone to hypertrophic scarring (bumps will form on the two piercing sites) if you're not careful and even if you are careful they may still form. But I absolutely love it.

Getting It Done:
I researched on the internet the best piercing places in my city and chose one with the best reviews. It cost me $80 including the jewelry (not including tip).
The pain wasn't bad at all for me. But it varies from person to person. The vast majority of people say it hurts extremely badly. For me, it hurt maybe a 3 out of 10. However, I do have a high tolerance of pain which I managed to discover when dealing with gallbladder attacks for over a year and having a surgery to remove my gallbladder. In all honesty, having an IV put into my wrist hurt more than the piercing did.
Process: He marked where he would pierce it. He didn't have me check it or anything which I didn't mind because I love exactly where he put it much more than where I had in mind. Then he put clamps on the top area and pierced it with a hollow needle. Most piercers will do a 1, 2, 3 breathe thing then pierce it, however he did not with me which also didn't bother me. After piercing it, he put a cork in the bottom of the needle. He then threaded (put in) the jewelry with one of the balls already screwed on the end (the top) and none on the bottom. He then checked the placement before he pierced the bottom hole. He put clamps on the bottom and pierced it. Finally he threaded the jewelry through the bottom and put a ball on the bottom of the bar. And it was done!

Photo Timeline:
I decided to take pictures of it daily on my phone so I'd be able to compare the pictures and more easily see if I develop an infection and to monitor its healing. So I'm gonna do a post here and show some of my pictures for people who are thinking of getting it done and for people to know what to expect.

This is about an hour after getting it done on August 15, 2013. As you can see, it has redness but it hadn't swelled at all.

 

The morning after getting it done. As you can see, it's still red and it has swelled. August 16, 2013.

 

Morning two days after getting it done. Redness and swelling has decreased. August 17, 2013.

 

Here I'm just showing what it looks like after showering. Don't be alarmed if your piercing swells a bit after showering and has redness. It's totally normal.

Morning of August 18, 2013.

 

August 19, 2013. Pretty much no swelling or redness.

 

 

Let me know in the comments or tweet me @KilljoyGrl if you have any questions or want to see a post on taking care of it or my progress or anything. Hope this helps!

 

 

 

 

"This Band Saved My Life"

I've recently gotten into some new bands lately. And, yes, I have turned into a fangirl. I haven't fangirled since the Jonas Brothers era. And, yes, I liked the Jonas Brothers.

I don't think that I'm going to get into which ones or what their names are simply because I feel like if I do, there will be people who will stop reading this because they let stereotypes get in their way. And the important part of my post isn't about the bands, it's about what comes out of them and how they influence people.

Something that has been bothering me lately in my quest of fangirling is seeing what other people say to each other about the bands, particularly on YouTube. One of the things that is most common in the fandom that I'm in with this particular band is that many people say that the band saved their life. Oftentimes, it seems that this comment will be top comment on the bands YT music/fan videos. I have absolutely no problem with that. But there is ALWAYS someone on there who is replying to that person and telling them things like: they're stupid for saying that, accusing them of being weak because something like a band saved their life, accusing them of making it up because that's what the fandom says but they don't really mean it, the band doesn't give a crap about them so stop saying they saved their lives, etc. And this really upsets me.

I personally have never been suicidal. But there is so many people out there who are/were. The band's lead singer himself has dealt with it actually. But for people to say things like that to someone's claim is just ridiculous. At first, I thought it was a bit odd for someone to say that. But then I literally started seeing the claim everywhere. At least once on every one of their YT videos. All over the fandom's Twitters/Tumblrs, etc. And then I realized that it was actually true.

The way that I see that it is completely true is the fact that suicide often (not always) comes from the feeling of lack of acceptance. Deep-down, every person wants to be accepted. Every person wants to feel like they belong. Every person wants to have friends and people who love them. That's just how we're made. So if listening to a band's music made someone realize that other people feel like them; if listening to a band's music opened a world to them where they felt/got acceptance; if listening to a band's music gave them a place to fit in among the fandom: then who are you to tell them that they're wrong in saying that the band saved their lives? Do you see where I'm coming from? And after experiencing things first-hand with the fandom, I can definitely see why someone would say that. The fandom opens up to anyone no matter who you are and what you're like or where you come from. They don't listen to stereotypes. If you looked at me, you would never think that I love this band as much as I do. But that's the thing: this band isn't about stereotypes. Sure, most of their fans have a certain look to them but that's not important. This band is a haven for anyone who wants to come in. The fandom is filled with some of the nicest people I know because they've all been there themselves in feeling like they don't belong. They don't judge people. They just let you in because you like the same band as they do whether you look like the rest of the fandom or not.

Our world is filled with people who think it's okay to be mean and to say hateful/rude things to people on the internet or in person or to attack what people say or who they are. Why is our world like that? Our world is filled with people who think that their opinion should be the only thing that matters and no one else's does.

Our world is filled with people looking for acceptance. And if they find that in a band's music, then why does it matter to you? If that music saves someone's life, shouldn't you be happy for that person that they were able to make it through? What do you get out of telling that person that they're stupid/wrong/weak? Nothing. All you get is proving that you are a selfish person to a huge fandom that loves their band members as much as they love themselves. Trust me, you don't want to mess with one of the members of the fandom. You don't want to mess with the MCRmy.