A Piercing Experience Essay, Research Paper

To most teenagers today the rage of fashion seems to be body piercing. An ancient tradition turned into a post-modern form of ?trendy self expression?. A young man seeking attention slowly and inadequately walks into a tattoo parlor with the expectation of leaving a new person.

The young man sits down with great fear preparing and expecting the worst. The man begins to prep himself with soap and water to disinfect his hands, which have pierced all day. Slowly and carefully he explains to the young man the procedure of a tongue piercing emphasizing the after care. Agreed by the young man, he then begins to mark the area on the tongue with a blue pen to target the direction of the thick needle. While sterilizing both the needle and the piercing jewelry, he can easily sense the fear in the young mans eyes.

Without any hesitation or animation, he grabs for the piercing claps and tightly secures them completely around the tongue. Now placing the needle at the top center of the young mans tongue he mutters, ?Exhale?. While the young man exhales, with force he thrusts the needle through the tongue, quickly releasing the clamps. Screwing tightly the end pieces of the jewelry, he is agitated by the young man?s rambling about his fear of today?s visit. To him he is just another client with the same fears as everyone else.

While double checking his work, he again stresses the after care procedure and its importance. Handing the young man a bottle of Listerine, he sarcastically says ? This will be your most prized possession for the next 2 weeks, use it as much as possible?. The young man walks out with a good attitude and the feeling that he has made a good decision.

He?s just one of the many teens today who feels their decision is a good one. He fell into the trend and is now debating on another installment to his individuality, a tattoo.