Before I begin to inform you all about conch piercings and ear cartilage piercings in general. I would like to add a little disclaimer. Piercings do not automatically define a person. There, it's been said. So, do not try and label me as something I am not.

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about piercings. Here is a diagram of types of ear piercings that if you are autonomically correct can receive.

If you are looking to getting a piercing make sure you do a lot of research on the shop and the piercer. If you get to the shop and believe it is not clean enough then, go ahead and walk right on out. Piercings alone are not something to mess with. If you are thinking about getting your cartilage, don't go get it done at icings or Claire's. It is very unhealthy for your ear and potentially can do serious damage. So, my conch piercing was my experience and please do not think this is how yours will go if you're thinking about getting it.

As a person who hates needles, it amazes me I do have piercings and a tattoo. When I go to the doctors, I use every excuse one can think of to get out of getting a shot or my blood drawn. When I got surgery on my ankle, I nearly passed out just getting the IV. When it came time for them to stab me with a needle the length of a baby's arm, well lets just say all the hours in the weight room did not pay off. Despite this huge fear of needles, I decide to get holes poked through my ear with nothing other than my favorite thing, A NEEDLE.

When I walked back to the piercing room, I laid on a table similar to one in a doctors office. I just concentrated on my breathing and not on the fact this guy was about to shove a hollow needle through the thickest part of my ear. My piercer understood my fear and kept the needle hidden from me at all times and for that he was the 'real MVP.' When it was time, my piercer had me take a deep breath in and when I began to breathe out. It happened. He had put the needle completely through the thickest part of my ear. To my surprise, it did not hurt either. I don't know if it was cause I know what to expect with cartilage piercings or if I was just on top of my pain threshold game that day.

Ultimately, if you are thinking about getting a piercing do not be scared of it. Just walk into the clean tattoo shop with confidence knowing that it probably will hurt but only for a second and just do it. You can express yourself with your piercings and they can be quite beautiful. Do not worry about what others will say because if it will make you happy then you should do it regardless of that little but very scary needle.