Beyond the pain and the trend, what do students’ piercings actually say about them? When walking through school, people won’t just notice backpacks and clothes. They will see earlobe piercings, nose piercings, eyebrow piercings, and more, catching the light. For several students throughout the school, piercings are more than just a choice. They are a simple and fun way to show who they are and how they feel. In a place where everyone is still learning who they really are, piercings can say something that words cannot always say.
Senior Kenzi Botterweck has several piercings that catch the eye, such as her nose, cartilage, and several earlobe piercings. This one especially catches the eye because she has five in a row along her lobes. She got these piercings between the ages of three and 17. She fell in love with the first one and decided to get more.
“I got so many because I liked the way it looked, so I kept continuing to get more,” Botterweck said.
In her personal experience, the piercings did not hurt as badly as she thought they would. Many people have different opinions about the pain of piercings, which can scare people, but everyone is different. Botteweck rates the pain a 3/10. She sees them not only as fashion but also as a way of self-expression.
“I see them as a form of self-expression because you can get a bunch of different ones, and it’s fun to express myself this way,” Botterweck said.
Her friends and everyone seem to like them, as she shares that she has gotten no negative comments about them, and her friends like how they look. In the future, she plans to continue on her journey of piercings by adding a belly piercing and some others. Her advice to others for getting a piercing is to just do it.
“Get them, because I like them,” Botterweck said.
Sophomore Codi Rose also finds piercings to be a way of self-expression. She has her earlobes pierced and her belly button pierced. She prefers her belly button, which is her most recent piercing. Her mother said that she could get it on her 15th birthday, so when the time came, she did just that. She rated the pain a 6/10.
“It actually did not hurt that badly,” Rose said.
Many people think that piercings hurt badly or that they can be scary, when in reality, many people love them. Rose expresses how she feels about piercings and why students should get them. She thinks that piercings are a great way for students to express themselves and show their personality.
“I think with different jewelry you can wear [it] can [make it] be fun,” Rose said.
Her friends encourage her to get more and love when she gets a new piercing. They give her positive feedback and compliment her all the time.
“My friends like my belly button piercing, and I got it done with my friend Delaney,” Rose said.
Sophomore Delaney Fuller’s piercings catch the light, shimmering and turning heads. Her piercings include the belly button, daith, flat, conch, and five on her lobe. Her favorite, though, is her conch piercing. Her first thought about getting it was that it would not be too bad because others didn’t hurt too badly; however, she was wrong. She rated the pain an 8/10. Spontaneous piercings can be the best kind of piercing.
“The piercing lady was having a discount day, so that’s why I decided to get it,” Fuller said.
As she continues to get piercings, her friends are supportive of them and like how they look. They “hype” her up to continue getting more and to make the decision to do so. She hasn’t gotten any of the negative comments on piercings or the stereotypes. She plans to get more piercings in the future and loves how they boost her personality.
“I wouldn’t say piercings are a ‘personality,’ but they are a way to customize yourself,” Fuller said.
Junior Gianna Beard has a wide array of piercings, ranging from her ears and face to her tongue and beyond. She got her tongue piercing when she was 15. The reason she got this done was that she wanted it so bad and thought they looked cool, despite the pain.
“The piercings didn’t hurt as badly; it was more of a 2/10, but the healing was like a seven. My tongue was so swollen I could barely talk,” Beard said.
She sees her piercings as a form of self-expression and enjoys getting different ones. Beard thinks that it is better to wear and keep your piercing rather than getting rid of it.
“I guess you could take them off, but like, why? I think they are cool,” Beard said.
Her friends find her piercings shocking and sometimes laugh at them. She gets a lot of piercings whenever she wants them.
“It’s usually just [a] shock, I guess, because there are no more basic ones you can get, so I have to go more extreme,” Beard said
Due to the amount of piercings she has, people are often saying things to her about them, like “You can’t get a job,” but that doesn’t bother her.
She plans to keep getting more piercings in the future, as she finds them fun and cool. Her advice to others for getting piercings is simple.
“Just do it,” Beard said.
“Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.” — unknown.
