Tag Archives: body mods

Oct26

A Thank You Letter to my Parents

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A Thank You Letter to my Parents

This is a special thank you letter to my mom and dad. A thank you for them being so accepting of their extremely unique looking daughter. My mother took me to get all of my piercings done from the time I was fifteen until I was eighteen and old enough to get them done on my own. If you’ve read my original post Body Mods, you’ll know that I’ve gotten pierced and repierced over thirty times, and my mom was there for more than half of these. My dad was never really thrilled when I’d come home with a new piercing, however he’d rarely let me know it. And when he did, it was as nice as he possibly could make it, which usually just involved asking me if I was ever going to take any of my metal out. Not only was my parents cool with my body mods when I was younger, they were also fine with taking me to the hair salon to get my hair dyed and styled into my signature bright red semi short hair. Words can’t really express how much this means to me now. The fact that I was only a teenager but my parents were giving me the freedom to express myself and look the way I want is something I don’t thank them for enough. I should really start. My mom and dad treated me like an adult in the sense that I was able to make decisions on my appearance completely on my own. I’ll never forget all of the times my mom and I would come waltzing into the tattoo shop and being greeted by all of the guys working. My piercer absolutely adored my mom and we visited him frequently enough that my mom would drop the classic phrase of “you can be my adopted son” whenever we would see him. It was always so fun for me to see my mom chat and laugh with all of these pierced and tatted up guys as if she was the mother of all of them. Watching her interact with them and pass no judgement on any of them was amazing. My mom is sixty and my dad is sixty-six and I really think its cool that both of them are totally okay with having a daughter who looks like me. Most people my parents’ age are very set in their ways which tend to be more traditional. When I came home with my newest tattoo yesterday (see the article Body Mods! Part 2 for more information on that), my mom was so eager to see it that she was genuinely upset when I told her I couldn’t take the wrapping off for another two hours. My dad was amazed when he found out his little girl sat through five hours worth of pain to get it done, “how in the hell did you do that?!” There’s so many parents in the world who wouldn’t be okay with their kids opting for a more unique look. And there’s probably a lot of parents who don’t agree with my mom and dad’s acceptance of my appearance. But that’s okay, to each their own. My mom and dad accept me for who I am because I’m my own person and I like what I like. And most importantly, nothing will change the fact that I’m their little girl. My gratitude to my parents for everything knows no bounds, and I am so beyond lucky that I have them. If you guys haven’t read my newest Body Mods article, this is my newest tattoo which I got this weekend:

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Take the time to thank your parents for something they did that you really appreciate. Has there ever been a time where your parents shocked you with how cool they are? What was something that your mom or dad did that you’ll never forget? Leave me a comment and let’s chat! Happy Sunday. -Sarah

Oct25

Body Mods – Part 2!

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Body Mods – Part 2!

Welp, it happened. I got my new tattoo yesterday! Making it the fourth one in my collection. Before I begin telling the tale of getting this baby done, let me show you a picture!

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There she is! The goddess, Isis. I got this masterpiece done at Odd Fellows Tattoos in Akron, Ohio. My friend and tattoo artist, Travis made this work of art possible. (And if you’re into heavy metal at all, please check out his band Below The Tide!) Let me tell you guys, this tattoo was a process! It took a little over five hours to complete. Honestly, I’m shocked that I was able to handle getting the entire tattoo done in one sitting. My sister accompanied me for the stencil placing, because I really wanted her opinion on the placement of it. Unfortunately after that, she had to leave me to go volunteer for the rescue group Canine LIfeline. (You can read all about this fantastic group in my article Must Watch Video!) http://caninelifeline.org/

After the tattoo was placed to my liking, we got to work. The outlining of Isis really wasn’t that bad, it was smooth sailing and was completed in an hour or so. After that was done, we took a five minute break for the bathroom, cigarettes, and to stretch out. In the entire five hour process we took three five minute breaks. Travis then called me back to his chair of doom and began to work on all of the black work in the tattoo. At this point I was still doing fine and dandy, I was a little bit tired, but I was still feeling good enough that nothing was really hurting. I’m a trooper 😉 While Travis worked we enjoyed conversing with each other and the other gentlemen working in the shop. All of them were really just fantastic. I told Travis that himself and everyone working at Odd Fellows did a great job of making an uncomfortable situation feel very comfortable. The conversations we had were full of vulgarity and profanity, but it was hysterical and helped take my mind off of the process at hand. Before I knew it, Travis was done with the black work, and it was time for another break. Once again, it was a bathroom, cigarette, and water break. Things took a turn for the worse as far as how I was feeling goes once Travis started on the color, which he called “the fun part”. Ha! Up until the coloring, I didn’t need any of the guys at the shop to hold my hand, and I wasn’t in genuine pain. But once the color began, it was almost too much. My skin was raw and angry, and every stab Travis took at me with the tattoo gun felt like daggers. I told myself that I wouldn’t cry while I got Isis done, but that didn’t happen. Tears started flowing without me even trying. The water works were coming out like my eyes had sprung a leak. That was when the guys at the shop rallied around me to try and help. One of my other friends, Mitch (who you can check out in the band, Fallen Captive) held my feet when I started squirming. Keith was on hand holding patrol for the rest of the session. I was honestly feeling pretty faint at this point, I was in a lot of pain and I was falling in and out of zoning out. To help with that, all of the guys held conversations with me to help take my mind off of the pain. It was very sweet. The last hour of filling in all the color felt like an eternity. I was so zoned out that I didn’t even realize that Travis had finished it once it was done. It was such an amazing moment when he told me I could get up and go take a look at the finished product! I almost thought he was kidding! When I got to look at my completed side piece for the first time, I was blown away. It was better than how I pictured it to be. It looked even better than the picture that I brought in (which is my featured image photo). Travis couldn’t have done a better job if he tried. I am so thankful to him and all the gents at Odd Fellows who helped make my tattoo experience as tolerable as possible! If you’re ever in Akron and feel like getting a tattoo, you know where to go!

Here’s Odd Fellows Facebook page, make sure you give it a like!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Odd-Fellows-Tattoo/667458826660986

And once again, if you’re into heavy metal check out the bands Below The Tide and Fallen Captive!

Happy Saturday! -Sarah

Sep19

ANNOYED!

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You know what REALLY grinds my gears? When different places of work are cool with tattoos showing but not piercings. In all reality it’s all the same. They’re both a body modification. I just had an interview for a hostess position at TGI Fridays, and the guy told me my nose piercings would have to be covered up or taken out. And when I worked at The Body Shop I had to take all of my piercings out. (The funny thing about that company is that tattoos were allowed to show!) Honestly I find this issue a form of discrimination on its own. And I really don’t think I’m taking it too far by saying that. How are my piercings affecting my ability to do a job? My piercings have nothing to do with my personality. My piercings don’t make me a bad person. As far as I’m concerned if tattoos can show, then why must piercings be insisted on being covered up? Are they offending anyone? No. Then why is it a problem? We’re in 2014. Why is something so minuscule still such a big deal? Aren’t there more important things to worry about in the hiring process than a few facial piercings? It’s absurd. Rant over. -Sarah

Sep19

Body mods

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If there’s one thing I love, it’s body modifications. The Pic Stitch above is of my three tattoos, “After the flood all the colors came out” is a lyric from Beautiful Day by U2. My favorite song by my favorite band. I got it the day I turned eighteen, much to my parents disapproval ;). I also have “Do I dare?” on my arm, which was my favorite quote in the book Night Film, which I highly recommend to everyone! My newest tattoo I got this month is from Jack White’s song Lazaretto and it says “When I say nothing, I say everything”. I plan on getting the goddess Isis pictured below my Pic Stitch as my major side piece probably this winter. I love her story. I love everything she stands for. As we delve deeper into this blog, I might talk about some of the reasons why her story touches my heart so deeply. She has a very significant meaning in my life and I’m very excited to have her with me for forever. Don’t even get me started on piercings though, because I could go on for DAYS about how much I looooove piercings! They were my first love. After begging my mom to take me to get my belly button pierced at fifteen, I was hooked. I’ve gotten pierced and repierced over thirty times. At the moment I only have my belly button, my ears, and my four piercings on my nostrils. I had to take all of my piercings out when I was the assistant manager at The Body Shop. I was SO pissed! The only ones I’ve gotten redone after that fiasco was my nose piercings. But let me break down everything I’ve ever gotten, just so you guys can see how much of a fanatic I am!!!
2 industrial bars going through my hips
8 dermal anchors on my hips (I had four done at once, and then another four when I got them redone)
8 dermal anchors on my collarbones (I had four done at once, and then, like my hips, got them repierced)
8 piercings on my nose (I had four done at once, then, like my hips and collarbones, got it repierced)
2 on my lip (snakebites)
4 on my ear
1 on my cartilage
1 on my belly button
Now do you believe me when I say how much I love piercings? Haha I would really like to get my septum done soon, and am also playing around with the idea of getting my snakebites redone. So many body mods so little time!!!! If you guys have any piercing or tattoo questions, please shoot me a comment! Also, if you would like to see some pics with my old piercings in, shoot me a friend request on Facebook (Sarah Mushenheim) Sweet dreams! -Sarah