Pain vs Laughter

Thinking back to the time I got my nose pierced, I laugh, but back then it was a very difficult situation. I decided one day that i really wanted to get my nose pierced so my mom took me to Ink Junkies Tattoo Parlor where their website said they do nose piercings. I walked into the red and black barn, extremely nervous, but also very excited. My mom had also decided she was going to get hers pierced for the third time in her life, and she said she would go first since she knew I was really nervous of the process. I had only had my ears pierced at that time and that was when I was a baby so I don’t remember it. This was a big step for me as I have always hated needles.

When we walked in a man greeted us warmly and talked us through the piercing process when we told him what we wanted. He said it would be an easy and quick job, and that I shouldn’t be nervous. He led us upstairs where the piercing would take place. We walked over to a glass case that reminded me slightly of a fish tank and this is where I picked out my nose stud. My mom asked him if there were any studs that wouldn’t come out as easily as the ones she had previously had, and he showed us the corkscrew ones. Of course, I picked the one with the blue gemstone as that’s my favorite color.

He led us over to the chair we would sit in and went through the process again. It seemed like it would be quick and easy. He asked which one of us would like to go first and my mom said she would to show me it wasn’t as bad as I was building it up to be. I watched as he started setting up and took out the materials he would need. Gloves, needles, the studs, some vaseline, etc, etc. Soon he had sterilized all the materials and had set everything up and was ready to go. He put the clamp on my mom’s nose and put the needle through like butter. He then put the nose stud in and everything was done.

Now it was my turn, he set everything up again, got new materials and sterilized all of that like he had the first time. I was a little less nervous after seeing my mom go through this and was a bit more prepared of what to expect. I sat in the chair and he clamped my nose and stuck the needle through. It wasn’t as painful as I had expected, it was more of a shock. The worst part was the clamp in my opinion. He then tried to stick the stud in, but for some reason it wouldn’t go in no matter what he tried. He then told me he had to stick the needle in again, this was not what had planned at all.

This was difficult and painful, but the guy was making jokes to make me laugh which helped ease the pain and the uncomfortable feeling in the room at the time. My mom was sitting beside me with her freshly pierced nose, and was looking kinda green. My mom can’t stand blood, or pain, she hates to see someone hurting or bleeding so it was even worse for her when it was her own daughter.
Everything had been smooth sailing before, he had previously pierced my mom’s nose without any problems, and the needle had gone through mine easily the first time, but the stud soon became an issue. He pushed and pulled at the side of my nose and tried everything he could. None of this seemed to work though, so he had to stick the needle through my nose again.
He instantly seemed to realize I was about to panic or throw up or something, so he starts telling me jokes to calm my nerves. I began to laugh and instantly became less nervous and afraid of what was going on.
Trading jokes with a man I barely knew who had to stick a needle through my nose twice helped me learn that being able to laugh at yourself and your mistakes is a very important skill to have. The piercer taught me an invaluable skill and I have been able to use this many times since freshman year when all of this happened, and it has helped me immensely and I will never forget how to laugh in the face of a painful or difficult situation.