I got my nose pierced. I also have a tattoo, and my belly button is pierced. And so what? I'm a good kid. I get good grades. I don't do illegal things, at least not highly illegal things. But you know what? My parents saw my nose, and flipped shit. Luckily that's all they know about, for now at least. I'm not excited for the ensuing backlash when everything else comes to light, so to speak.
I'm not a bad kid. I listen to some pretty heavy shit, and my tattoo may or may not be a tribute to my favorite band in addition to having deep personal meaning. Okay, fine. The deep personal meaning is in the second part, which I haven't gotten yet. But it's all going to be one tattoo; a tribute to a time in my not-so-distant past as well as to my favorite band and the tragedy its members and fans have endured.
My point was... Oh, I'm not a bad kid. I love music. I love heavy, meaningful music. Yeah, maybe it doesn't conform to society's idea of what a teenage girl should be listening to, but who the hell cares. I like this stuff, and I'm not the only one in my demographic who does. The problem is that people, namely my parents, judge me for it.
I get it, you don't particularly want your kid to turn into a punk rock, activist, hardcore person who wears ten pounds of eyeliner and has full sleeves and doesn't talk to people. But guess what? That's what you got. You got dealt a shitty hand; well, so did I. I've been through some stuff, and this music, this life, this is what I want. This is what makes me feel good. This is what helps me. Knowing that other people have been through what I went through (that's right, past tense at last, squee) makes me feel better. It didn't at first, but now, recognizing that this is a nationwide epidemic has really begun to help me.
And if you don't recognize why I am the way I am, and at least learn to tolerate the things that help me out, then feel free to GTFO of my life, because you have no business being in it in the first place.
And you know what's really great? This isn't the first time my parents have dealt with this sort of thing. At least, not my mom. My older sister is basically an older version of me, less extreme in some parts and more extreme in others. Also, she lacks my decision making ability. But we've been through the same dark places and we both came out the other side.
Pertaining to my earlier testimony as to what my parents got with me, I don't actually have full sleeves. I have no plans to get full sleeves, or half or quarter for that matter. Why? Because I fully intend to have a full-time professional, admittedly non-office bound, career later on in life. And I highly doubt a nose stud is going to effect that goal in any way, shape, or form. But if it does? I can always just take it out. But the old-fashioned and highly outdated idea that a nose ring somehow implies a lack of intelligence, propensity for hooligan-like behaviour, or general inferiority? If that idea is ingrained into your psyche, you can't just take it out. It would take something special for that to happen.
I also don't wear ten pounds of eyeliner. I barely even wear mascara anymore because I'm just too goddamn lazy. But you better bet I'll be wearing every time we go out someplace where my parents will worry about being judged--such as church tomorrow, for instance. I'm also wearing black jeans with gold paint and my Seether concert tee. Why? Because I'm a good kid, and because I am my own person, I will not conform to anyone's standards but my own.
Goin' hard, and goin' to church. To worship a god I don't think I've ever really believed in.
