In general, I wouldn’t call myself a very rebellious person. I’ve dyed my hair for the past five years, colors ranging from dark brown to blue, but otherwise, there’s not much of remark. I have average features and average glasses. I follow most of the rules. I drive like a grandmother.

But when I got my industrial piercing, the summer before my freshman year of college, my mother asked me, are you doing this to be rebellious?

My honest answer was no.

I wanted my mother to approve of my piercing, but she doesn’t. I’m not using my body as a big screw you to the world. I’m not doing it to seem edgy or cool, because honey, that’s a task much too large for a piercing.

I’m 18, perfectly capable of getting one whether she approved or not, but I don’t want her to hate it. And she does.

So why did I get the piercing? Because it looks cool. Aesthetics is literally the goal of the piercing – or any body modification for that matter.

So, what was it like?

As I said, my mom was not down with the idea of me getting my industrial piercing. My dad didn’t know I even got it done until a month later. Surprise!

Instead, I had a friend go with me. At that point I was determined. I’d liked the idea of a second piercing for a few years, but the thought was never really stuck in my mind. I wasn’t sure what I wanted – second lobes or maybe a cartilage?

But college was new and exciting. Maybe I got it as a launch point – look more badass, feel more capable? Maybe I got it to commemorate my life up to that point – trapped in high school and the boring straight-A, straight-edge person I was. Whatever the secret psychology, I wanted the piercing, and I brought a friend to make sure I didn’t back out.

Beforehand I researched everything I could about the piercing. The information at my disposal range quite a bit, but a few things were consistent.

1. I needed to go to a tattoo or piercing parlor.

For some reason, this still seems up for debate – but trust me it’s not. Professional piercers know what they are doing. Professional piercers can properly sanitize their tools. Professional piercers pierce the area with a needle, instead of punching a hole in with the jewelry.

They can give you proper after-care instructions, and you can go to them with any problems that develop with your piercing. The stigma of going to a parlor is ridiculous, but nevertheless persistent, and something I even had to convince my mom against.

2. It was going to hurt.

It’s incredibly easy to find an ear-piercing pain chart on the internet. Generally speaking, the higher up your ear you pierce, the more painful it will be. An industrial piercing is unique, in that it is two piercings connect by a single bar. This means there will be twice the initial pain, in addition to whatever discomfort comes from inserting the jewelry into both holes.

For me personally, the lower hole was maybe a 3 or 4 out of 10. The upper hole, and the second to be pierced was a 7 or 8 out of 10. The blood begins to rush to the area after the first piercing, so the area is sensitive. In addition, that part of the ear is thicker, and thus took more force and time to pierce. I could feel every second of the needle pushing through my cartilage.

3. It was going to take forever to heal.

This comes with the territory of the industrial’s uniqueness. Because both piercings – essentially fresh wounds – are connected, they are more likely to experience trauma than other piercings. If you bump into one end of the bar, you’ll feel it in both. The average healing time ranges from 6 to 8 months – the longest of any ear piercing.

4. It was going to be high maintenance.

During those 6 to 8 months I clean the piercing at least twice a day. I use H2Ocean, a brand of sprayable salt water solution, but in general, a combination of gentle soap in the shower, and salt soaks or sprays in-between will suffice in care of the piercing. I also cannot sleep on the piercing.

It discourages healing, suffocates the wound, and causes trauma. Sleeping on the piercing can cause keloids or hypertrophic scarring.

So, with my camera and my friend in tow, I called my parlor of choice and looked into getting the piercing. My specific piercer takes walk-ins, rather than appointments, so I simply showed up and waited my turn. Industrial piercings cost $45-90 dollars – mine was $80, including the jewelry and aftercare solution.

Initially, I was nervous, but my piercer was very kind and took care to explain everything she was doing. She answered all my questions and made sure I was comfortable with the process. The pain was not what I expected. It was sharper and more fleeting.

There was a minor pain at the first hole, followed by the sharper, persistent stinging pain of the second hole. My ear felt warm and red, but after two hours there was no pain at all, only sensitivity when touched. Using the spray solution and cotton swabs made cleaning the area easy. The primary hassle of the industrial piercing is not being able to sleep on it.

I don’t regret my piercing – I love it. I don’t care what other people think. My body, my choices.

It's just a part of who I am.