replace "piercings" with "tattoos"

...and i could be writing this to my mother.

What I wish I could tell my parents

Piercing is something that my parents and I have had many fights about and is one of the few things that actually come between us. Now while you might be saying to yourself, "Why is this 20 year old guy worried about what his parents think?" And my answer to you would be that I care a lot, first of all they still support me while I am going to school, and secondly, they are my parents and we get along really well, accept for this.
I have only a few piercings: my lobes, an industrial, my tragus, and my tongue, as well as a few that have retired but they would have never seen anyway. Now this is the problem, they already think I look like a freak and that I could never get a respectable job, and I feel that I am not yet the way I want to be, and this is where it gets interesting.

What I would like to say...

Why do I get pierced? Not because it looks cool or because it is a fad. I get pierced because it means something to me far beyond what any sort of fashion or, material possession ever could. To me being pierced is an experience that connects me with m mortality and is a way to physically manifest some of the pain that we all experience in everyday life, but detach ourselves from. Piercing is a challenge that each time you overcome, it makes you stronger. So, no I do not get pierced because I am rebelling, or because it is a fad, or because I think it will make me fit in, I get pierced because I would like to feel more like me and know myself more. I want to know my limits, my boundaries, my abilities, and then I want to push them to the next level.

Piercing is also a mark for people with a certain mindset. It is not some ritual, cult of death, but it is a cultural symbol, and this is the culture that I want to be associated with. Not to fit in, but to show them who I am, and then be accepted by like-minded individuals, people who I can relate to.

Why do I pierce? Yes, I have taken up piercing, myself and others, and I am actively trying to make a profession of it. (Any Piercing Artists in Long Beach / LA area want to take on an apprentice?) I do this because of my love for piercing. I think it is not only something that everyone who wants to should have access to, but I think it is something that everyone should experience at least once in their lives. As Tyler Durden said, "How much can you know about yourself if you've never been a fight?" I ask, "How much can you know about yourself if you have never been pierced?" I think that inflicting this amount of pain on yourself for something inconsequential, is a major event that can happen in a persons life. It is giving up your fear of pain and everything we as modern people do to escape and numb pain, in essence, this is giving up just one of the many things that control your life, and taking it back for yourself. So I back to the question: Why do I pierce? Because I w ant to share this thing that I love with the world, and I also want to meet people who appreciate it like I do. Because it is through people who appreciate the same things that we appreciate, that we can grow, and expand our horizons.

And as for this whole "respectable job" thing. Perhaps I don't want a "respectable job" perhaps I plan on doing something different, and actually enjoying what I do for a living and the environment in which I work. Perhaps to me it isn't so much about the money, but the happiness and the my relationships with the people that I care about. Besides there are many other things that I could be doing to "explore". Like drugs, or shagging every girl I meet, or becoming an urban camper. But what I choose to explore in this world are my relationships with people, my understanding of myself, and what I can create to make my mark. Essentially, this means that, all I have are my friends, my self, and my art. So be a little more open minded, there's always more than one way to do it, to live life, let me choose my own path, and rather than push me down yours, support me on mine. There's a big world beyond your front door, and rather than pushing out those who bring it in, you could try to go out into it, explore it, and explore yourself.