Who remembers going along to Claire's Accessories, holding the teddy bear and having two needles punctured through their earlobes when they were six or seven years old? Then inevitably crying a little bit, but soon after being super impressed with their new pierced ears! Not me.
I remember longing to have my ears pierced, so badly that I 1. lied to everyone and pretended I'd already had them done and they'd healed up, and 2. tried to pierce them myself. My Mum wouldn't let me have my ears pierced, I think because my grandma didn't let her, and I'm assuming it goes back down the family tree. Well, wherever it began, it's led us here - to me, a twenty-two year old woman who wears clip-on earrings.
I first started wearing clip-on and magnetic earrings when I was about six or seven, I used to be a big follower and wanted to be just like everybody else, so I had to disguise the fact that actually I had a pretty strict mum and, despite being one of the eldest in the class, I wasn't allowed to get holes in my ears. The older I got the less I cared though, by the time I was old enough to make the decision about getting my ears pierced for myself, I just wasn't fussed anymore, so I weened off from the pretend hoops for some time. Then I went to university. I started going out more and established an 'evening' look that was different to my daytime look, and to jazz it up even further, I knew i had to go back to the hoops!
I love wearing my clip-ons, which is a little out of character for me because I'm not big on jewellery! I just feel like they complete my "look", I've definitely grown quite accustomed to them now. I know what some of you are thinking, why not just get your ears pierced? It's a good question. I've toyed with the idea of going and getting my ears pierced for a couple of years now, during university my friends would offer to go with me and get their seconds done, but it never happened. I'm an adult now so I have every right to go and do it, and it's not that I'm scared to, I just don't feel that I need to anymore! I've got my clip-ons and that's all i need. They look just like real earrings, they do the same job, but at the end of the day when I take them off, my earlobes remain in tact. If I couldn't wear clip-ons then I'd head out to the nearest piercing shop today and get them done, but that's not necessary, and for the meantime I'm just going to carry on as I am. I remember when I told my PGCE cohort that my earrings were fake and this announcement was met with lots of 'that's so cute' and 'that's so adorable' style responses... why is it? I'm just wearing an accessory, like a bracelet or a necklace. Why is not having my ears pierced and wearing an alternative that does not require holes in my ears cute? I'm not a child and wearing fake earrings does not make me any less of an adult than anyone else, not when you really think about it. There's nothing "adult" about having your ears punctured, if there was, people wouldn't get it done when they're six years old. I'm doing things a little differently and that's all there is to it, it isn't a reflection on my maturity or my moral compass, it's just that I never got my ears pierced when I was little and now don't need to. Right?
Moving swiftly onto the tattoos.
While I would probably have my mum's blessing to go and get my ears pierced, I most definitely do not have her blessing to get a tattoo. Now I know that I can't live my life based on what she thinks I should and shouldn't do, and some of the best moments in my life have actually come out of making decisions that my mum would most definitely not approve of. However, it's not just my mum who's a bit skeptical about me getting inked, I am too. My body changes a lot, because I have a pretty unhealthy relationship with food, I can lose a significant amount of weight in a week and then pile it all back on again and more. Not only that but I'm pale, I have dry skin and so many moles up and down my arms, I just don't love baring all my flesh. So I don't know if I really want a tattoo. I don't know if I want more attention drawn to my body. To try and solve this dilemma, I ordered some temporary tattoos from an Etsy site called NatureTatts - I experimented with a few of them now and decided that the little cactuses were a winner for me.
I have to say, I do really like the way it looks in the above image, but I also like the fact that it wiped off with a flannel and some cold water... So, I'm still super conflicted. The thing about a tattoo is that it's permanent, and my appearance is not always in one permanent state, and I'm not always in one permanent mood. So, I don't feel like they suit me all the time. For now, I'm just going to wear my temporary ones and continue to test them out. I recognise that most people haven't worn temporary tattoos since finding one in a party bag after someone had a birthday in year four, but I don't think they're just for children. It baffles me actually that we, as a society, put age restrictions on things like this. I guess it's because once you reach eighteen, you can get a real tattoo (legally) so the fake ones are maybe designed for people who aren't eighteen yet? That makes sense, but just because I've gained the ability to get a real tattoo doesn't mean I've lost the ability to wear a fake one. So I'm going to keep rocking them as and when I choose, and anybody judging me can do so to their heart's content, because I'll be feeling good when I catch a glimpse of my reflection, even if you won't.
So, why have I written this post and shared this strange information with you? The reason for this post was just to remind you all that it's okay to do things differently. It's okay to wear clip-on earrings and temporary tattoos before you decide to go for the real deal, or to wear them forever. That's fine. Anybody that wants to poke fun or judge, let them, you can't make your decisions based on them. Make your choices and defend them. Be different. Stand up for yourself. Ironically, most people get tattoos and piercings to add to their identity and to make themselves unique or different... but as someone who doesn't have either, I'm the one that stands out among the crowd. I have nothing against piercings or tattoos (hence why I display pretend ones on my body) and I don't think that I'm any more or less of a good person for not having them, just as I don't think anybody with them is any better or worse than I am. I'm just doing what I feel is best for me right now, which is what we should all do.
Nowadays there's a huge call to look, act and be a certain way - I'm just not about that life. I remember being fourteen and looking at other peoples long, luscious locks and thinking I NEED my hair to look like that. I tried out all sorts of different treatments, styles and cuts, to make me look like someone else, before I realised that just isn't going to happen. My hair isn't going to look like that, but that doesn't mean it can't still look nice! Sometimes you need reminding that just because you don't look the same as someone from Instagram or Love Island (don't even get me started) or whatever, doesn't mean you don't like nice. It's far better to be yourself than to try and be anybody else, and I hope that anyone who didn't have the confidence to do things their way before, maybe does now. I'm a twenty-two year old woman who wears temporary tattoos and clip-on earrings - and quite frankly, I'm proud to finally be able to not only do this, but to share it with my readers.