It was always one of my childhood wishes to have my ears pierced. You see all the pretty young girls showing off their piercings and you think: I can do that too! It does not look that painful, so the decision was made. It took me two weeks to get an appointment with a reputable ear-piercer. I had to wait outside for him to make sure everything was disinfected and safe so the new hole could be pierced. He looked like a living work of art moving on feet. He was covered with all kinds of colourful tattoos and piercings on his face and ears, in places, I did not even think could be pierced! When I saw that, I thought to myself, if he has all these holes, it must be painless! So I looked at him and said with a shaky smile, "Your face is such a reassuring map for us newbies!" He laughed and said, "Believe it or not, I wish I had not had them done like that, I was so young when I had them done." Shocked, I turned my face to him and said, "But why? They look like art on you!" He said, "I know, but people like me are not perceived the right way. When they see me, they see a freak! And you can see that in their eyes, all the time." He said that and then swiftly punched his needle into my cartilage. I looked in the mirror and told him, "You made someone happy today!' He smiled back, and at that moment I became one of those he called freaks!