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Rant & Rave
WHY are parents so concerned about a nose ring here and a belly button ring there? If I want to have my belly button pierced, why should they stop me? It's my body. What do they know? Piercing concerns
have validitySometimes, parents know a lot more than you think.
Body piercing is pervasive in America today. How many people do you see walking down the street with at least one or more body piercings? Those piercings can be in places that range from the top of their heads to the bottom of their toes, and even places where the sun doesn't shine. Nowadays you can pierce yourself practically anywhere, and I mean anywhere!!!
There are a lot of reasons why you shouldn't pierce your body. I think that unless you have taken the precautions to learn about what you want and where you want it , you shouldn't get anything pierced. I think you should wait.
The first thing you should think about is all the health related issues. There are a lot of health risks such as Hepatitis B, tetanus, skin rashes or other reactions and infections, nerve damage, and, from tongue piercings, chipped teeth and speech impairment.
The infections aren't just a matter of the location of the piercing, but can be caused by the person who pierces you. A lot of parents are worried about hygiene. You could be sharing the same needle with a lot of other people, putting you at risk of getting many kinds of diseases, such as AIDS.
It is dangerous to go to stores where you can't be sure of the staff's credentials.
EVERYWHERE you look these days, it seems that young people are encouraged to have their bodies pierced. I think one of the major influences is TV. Its stars make it look "cool" and "in," so naturally the teen population thinks so too. But others do it for the attention they get or to make their parents angry.
These teens want to be different. Piercings are just like clothes in presenting a way of expressing who you are.
Dress codes were developed to keep extreme clothes in the closet. I think that it would be really distracting to have a guy walk into a classroom with piercings everywhere on his body: his nose, tongue, ears, lips, and eye brows. I'd probably be staring at him during class , trying to count how many body piercings he had and wondering where else he could have them. You can get attention when your body is pierced but it is not always the attention you want.
Personally I think that some body piercings are totally disgusting. I'm not saying that you shouldn't ever pierce your body and that body piercing is completely bad. I have my ears pierced. We should just be more aware of what we're getting into. I encourage you to be careful and to make the right decisions about your body.
Ke'alohi Tyau is a freshman at Punahou School.
Teens are in demand this summer at Shriner's Hospital, where volunteers at least age 16 are being sought for a special summer program. Shriner's needs teen volunteers
The program is seeking to fill short-term openings in the hospital medical records, nursing, radiology and recreation therapy departments from July 1 to Aug. 11 with teen volunteers.
If you are interested in volunteering for this program, call the hospital at 951-3646 and leave your name and phone number following the recorded message.
Rant & Rave is a Tuesday Star-Bulletin feature
allowing those 12 to 22 to serve up fresh perspectives.
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