Present For Me

It can be really hard to like ourselves.  Men and women alike are bombarded daily with images and expectations that are impossible to live up to without abundant free time to devote to body sculpting, lucky genetics, or easy access to photshop.  Men are told they’re not allowed to be sexy unless they’re a sports hero or an underwear model, women are told they’re forever inadequate to this or that glossy image on the cover of a magazine.  It’s an ugly jungle out there with no exceptions.

So I think it’s important to do little things for ourselves that simply make us feel good.

Today is my birthday – this was my birthday present to me:

The cartilage (helix) piercing is the new one, I already had the other three.  I love jewelry, and I particularly love piercings.  I don’t like getting them precisely, although in a weird way the process makes me feel a tiny bit macho.  I like them because each one opens up a new realm of jewelry that’s available to me because I was willing to endure the pain it took to put it there.  I know I’m not done yet, and the next one will be a reward to myself for the next twenty pounds successfully shed, and located somewhere on my face – I just haven’t made up my mind as to precisely where.

For me, loving my body is easier with just a tiny bit more bling.  It’s a way of saying to myself, hey – you’re not perfect, but you work hard and you deserve a sparkly little crystal ball on your birthday anyway.

Note: Big thanks to Jen at Tattoo Galaxy who does all of my piercings.  She’s really good at this stuff.  By the time your brain manages to register an “ouch!” she’s already done.