By: Kate Gruetter

National/World Editor

Most people who have pierced ears get this procedure done in their youth. Whether they’re three months old or three years old, it’s safe to say that it’s uncommon for people to get their first ear piercings at age 16. I am not most people. 

I’m not entirely sure if it’s my parents fault or my fault, but I was always a little behind on the whole piercings thing. It wasn’t that my parents didn’t let me, or that I didn’t want to; it was more something that I always said I wanted to do, yet never actually did. First, it was because I didn’t want them to get infected, then I couldn’t find a place to get them done, and it always just didn’t seem to work with my soccer schedule. However, on Aug.12, I made the brave decision to walk into Claire’s, my dear mother at my side, and finally get my ears pierced. 

I would say the number one worst thing about getting your ears pierced at such a late age is the judgment. You can’t cry, because all of your friends’ younger siblings, who were a decade younger than you when they got their ears pierced, did not cry. In fact, they said it didn’t hurt at all. So, if you end up saying anything different, you’re immediately classified as weaker than an elementary schooler.

It doesn’t end there though. The harsh responsibilities of teen-dom make remembering to clean your ears nearly impossible. My irresponsible attitude led my ears to crust and swell, and somehow my overpriced Claires stud earrings ended up inside of my ear. That’s right. The jewel decor on the jewelry was inside of my earring hole, and it hurt. I suffered through Labor Day weekend with bloody ears and low spirits. It got to the point where I began to depend on my mother, the lovely Bianca, to clean and twist my earrings for me because I was so terrible at it.

My dependent tendencies do not stop there, however. I also now rely on my soccer teammates to remove and replace my earrings before and after our games. At first, this routine was fine, it even helped build a team community. But all this ended when your dear teammate, Kira Fairman, deemed your earring holes subordinate, and decided to re-pierce your ears (by shoving earrings through them) herself.   

Now, despite my struggles, I am very glad I fulfilled my dream of piercing my ears.  Ultimately, I think they look pretty and are fun to fiddle with, and my pain makes for a good story. The whole experience has taught me a valuable lesson I should have learned earlier: age is but a number, and you should never let how many years you’ve been on this earth stop you from pursuing your dreams and aspirations, in this case getting your ears pierced a decade too late.