The first time I heard about Nipple Piercings I believe I was in high school. One of my friends got hers pierced by some random lady in an illegal setting. Then, my friend went around showing everyone. I was appalled, and yet...intrigued.

Again, in high school, I had another friend. She was nuts, off the wall, a lot of fun to be around. She started getting piercings and tattoos when she was 16. These were approved by her parents, so it wasn't illegal. Once she started, she couldn't stop. When we were seniors she had something like 28 piercings. She had both of her nipples pierced twice...in an 'x' formation. Yikes. it was this friend who first gave me the idea to get it done myself. We played basketball together and she said, "Laura, if we make the playoffs, i dare you to get your nipple pierced." Weird, I know. But, I jokingly agreed, saying I'd do anything I was dared to do. Low and behold, we made it to the playoffs, but my friend never brought it up again, so I didn't follow through.

Flash forward a couple years. I was 20, in college, and I wanted to get my nose pierced. I didn't want to shock my parents, so I called my mom to let her know what I was thinking. She cried. Not exactly the response I was hoping for. Then, she went on to say, "Don't ruin your face, get your nipple pierced for all I care, then I wouldn't have to see it!"

So...I did. I think I was more irritated at her response & wanted to do it to spite her, the ironic thing being that it's been 6 years, and if she reads this, it will be the first time she's heard about it.

Well, my roommates and I drove into the city one night, found a tattoo/piercing parlor, and made our requests. That's when the mortification began. I had assumed it would be quick and easy. I would go back there, my roommates would come with me, I would pull up my shirt, a piercer would do the piercing, and that would be it. Boy, was I wrong.

First, they said that only one person could come back with me. That one person ended up being a very modest roommate who couldn't believe I was doing this in the first place. She didn't want to be back there, but she didn't want to ditch me, either. That was the first awkward moment.

Then, it turned out it was going to be an apprentice piercer doing the piercing, and he would have to be watched by the rest of the piercing staff, to make sure everything went okay. The piercing staff consisted of about 8 guys. Hmmm...I was starting to wonder about this.

Finally, they said I had to take OFF my shirt and bra, and sit there completely bare-chested. So, not only is my extremely modest roommate there with me, but I'm not exactly un-modest, and this was NOT how I had pictured things going down. But, because I believe in doing everything I set my mind to, I obliged, feeling more uncomfortable than I'd ever felt in my life.

It was at this point that the apprentice came at me with a giant needle. I had been told by other people that the actually piercing didn't hurt much, so I wasn't too nervous, but the guys hands were shaking like crazy...not exactly a confidence booster. Right before he inserted the needle, the experienced piercer watching him yelled, "no, don't!" and pointed out that the needle was barbed. Again, not making me feel too good about this process.

So, they got a new (unbarbed) needle, and tried again. This is when I realized that that thing about it not hurting was A COMPLETE LIE. Maybe it was because I had been told it wouldn't hurt, but when that needle went through, I couldn't breathe. And it seemed to last forever. Finally, when the ring was in, I grabbed my clothing, put them back on, and then stood politely listening to another person talk about their nipple piercing for 15 minutes, when all I wanted to do was get the heck out of there.

Like I said, it's been six years, and I still have my piercing. It's not that there's anything great about it, but I guess it reminds me of my "crazy" days, when I would randomly go out with friends and do something off the wall. Would I suggest it for other people? Probably not. Like I said, the experience itself was mortifying, but I do understand the desire to do something that's a little rebellious, a little crazy, and makes a good story down the road.