A conversation:
Hygienist: Do you think you could remove that? [meaning my tongue stud]
Me: Umm….honestly, I’m not sure.
Hygienist: OK. I’ll just work around it.
Me: Sure, feel free to move it around as much as you need to.
Dentist: How long have you had that? [meaning my tongue stud]
Me: Um, 11 years?
Dentist, pushing back his chair a bit: 11 years?
Me: Yep!
Dentist: I guess my speech about hurting your teeth probably won’t work if you’ve had it for 11 years.
Me: Nope!
Dentist: Because I’ve seen people who have broken teeth…
Me: I don’t play with it, I don’t bite it – in fact most of the time I don’t even remember that I have it.
I share this anecdote because hello, I forget all the time that I have my tongue pierced period, much less that I’ve had it for 11 years. I can’t decide if it’s cool or weird or gross or all of the above that I’ve had this piece of metal in my mouth FOR NO GOOD REASON for 11 years.
I sometimes like to reflect on what earlier incarnations of E might think of where I am in my life. I’m in an adequate office job that makes not much more than what 22 year old E made, but I have two graduate degrees, which is something that 17 year old didn’t want to go to college E wouldn’t believe. I’m about to get remarried to an awesome guy with whom I have a really stable and healthy relationship, which is something that 24 year old E probably wouldn’t have imagined, but all ages of E should be happy about. I’m not a doctor, but I do have two cats, which should make 8-10 year old E pretty happy. I don’t stay out all night anymore, which would likely disappoint 19 year old E, but I do still have the tongue stud that I got at 19, so maybe we’ll call that one a draw.
latterdaybohemian 
Several times patrons (usually older people) will come up to me at the reference desk and the first thing out of their mouth is “Did that hurt?”. I sit there confused and staring until I realize they are talking about my nose ring. I’ve had it pierced for 12 years, it’s just like a part of my face at this point. So, I know what you mean… I’m old enough to have had something like that for TWELVE YEARS? Whoa.
I often wonder what younger aged me would think of my current life often. It is an interesting way to look at things, I think.
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I’ve had my nose ring for 11 years, and I while I exactly forget it, it’s part of my face, and I don’t think about it anymore. However, seeing other people with nose rings makes me happy, as if there is some fraternal order of nose ring wearers. Which is pretty weird… And I’m not sure why I have it (though it seemed IMPORTANT! at the time), but I like still having it. (I’m just lucky I didn’t get a tattoo, I guess.)
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