I had double pierced ears in high school but I let the second hole close because my fiance did not like it. We have been married now for over twenty years. On my 35th birthday, four years ago, I got the second hole re-pierced. I wanted to be able to wear my diamond studs on a daily basis, but still have fun matching my earrings to my outfit. I usually only wear studs, if I wear dangling earrings I leave the second hole bare. I figure that now that I am all grown up I can do what I like! I think wearing two studs together looks really pretty. I actually also have a small 3 stone jeweled hoop the I wear with my diamonds, that looks pretty too. If you are younger you can probably do a more dramatic look with hoops or longer earrings. Have fun! If you don't like it, you can always let it close up. Just don't get you upper ear pierce, getting cartilage pierced can cause problems, not to mention that I have heard from friends that it hurts a lot more!

My ears aren't pierced but I'd like to explain my wifes experience for many years ago. She had her ears pierced in 1974 at which time ear piercing was not very popular, she had been thinking about it for a while and around the time of her 16th birthday, her mum suggested that if she went and had her ears pierced, her mum, would buy her some earrings. That decided it so she went to the local jeweller in Greenford, West of London and had to make an appointment to go back the following week to be pierced, that seems so strange now with ear piercing being immediately available. the man used a device called the Simplicity Ear Piercer which effectively pushed a needle through her lobes and then inserted hinged sleeper hoops into the holes. She had to keep the sleepers in for 6 weeks weeks turning them daily. After 6 weeks she took the sleepers out and tied to get in the earrings her mum had bought her. After half an hour of prodding and poking they would not go in and so she put the sleepers back for another two weeks and went and some some studs instead. Fast forward nearly ten years and I asked her one night if she still had her sleepers - to which she said no as they had broken, but asked me why i liked them particularly. I said because wearing them would make her look like she had just had her ears pierced. No more was said, and we went on holiday a few weeks later, having arrived at the resort she handed me a little brown envelope - and said 'present for you'. Inside was a new pair of hinged sleepers which she immediately let me put in her ears and wore them for the rest of the holiday. Wow. I have asked on a few occasions if she thought about having her ears re-pierced but she always said no, one hole was enough. So I got some spring loaded silver hoops and one night when i put these on her she said she would have another hole done. So far still only the one hole, but she did wear the spring hoops in public the other week and did look so good. Not sure where the earring/piercing fascination comes from as my mum did not have pierced ears and I did not have a sister, but just wanted to share this story

Good topic! When I was 15 I wanted a tattoo. My dad said I could as long as it was tasteful, fit under a quarter and could be hidden by a bikini. (thank you Dad, for letting me do it, yet setting boundaries!) I still love my little butterfly, and I think nostalgically about the 15 year old girl I was and the symbolism of me coming out of my cocoon. I got another one, a "tramp stamp" if you will, the last time I went to Tahiti. I love it too, and get compliments on it when I choose to show people. It too, fits under my bikini. In essence, I can go out and not be judged but my art is there for me and those whom I choose to show it to. I got a belly piercing at 17, took it out at 24 to have my daughter, and put it back in at 27. I enjoy it, but sometimes do wish I hadn't gotten it because the hole will always be there. I also have five holes in my ears, two when I was three (I wanted them, my parents didn't inflict it on me... a whole different subject is that I hate it when parents pierce babies. Gross, unnecessary pain inflicted on a tiny baby who didn't have a choice!) I got the second holes at 13 with my dad. I got the last hole in my left ear at 15. Although I wore my combat boots and long skirts, black nail polish, black fishnets and stockings that we burned holes in with our cigarettes, dyed my hair and generally acted rebellious I was a pretty good kid. I graduated from college and live a pretty "straight" life. Upon looking at me now, people are shocked to hear I have two tattos and a belly ring "but you look so innocent and mainstream!". My suggestion? Have children do research. Go to different tattoo parlors and have them look at the work that is being done. Piercings, tattoos, etc. Have them talk to people who are covering up ugly tattoos, or look at older people with a big blur of ink on their bodies. They could end up with a scar there. That can be a scary deterrant. Talk to them about whether or not they'd do it again... They have pretty good removable earrings/noserings/bellyrings and tattoos now. Buy one of them so they can see how it looks and experiment. They are the ones who will have to live with their decisions. When I see a "goth" kid walk by I smile. How wonderful that they are experimenting with who they are. When I see a big flock of Abercrombie and Fitch clones walk by I see it as they are too afraid to take risks. Yes, goth is not original. But no two kids are wearing the same studded necklaces and black shirts. It's all individual. And they will grow out of it, most of them. I think a large majority of the goth adults are ones who weren't allowed the freedom to choose as young adults. Make sure she has done research. Make sure she understands fully what she is doing. Then let her go.

Thank you both! Tiffany- the plant was being sold as a houseplant. My mother and mother in law both have Elephant Ears in their outdoor gardens, but this woman (whom I've bought plants from before) said it would do well inside with indirect bright light. Worst comes to worst, I do have a small space on my apartment porch that I can transition it to when it's a bit warmer. Ken- Thank you, that makes me feel better. When I first got into plants, I had a truly awful incident in which I didn't fully understand the soil and light needs of my plants/over estimated the light in a particular part of my apartment and killed multiple plants due to root rot. I spent about 20 hours that weekend trying to save what I could and propagate when possible...then I got so worried about that that I ended up underwatering quite a few and lost some that way. If only I came to houzz then! Since then, I can be quite jumpy at the first sign of my plants showing any changes--worried they are root rotting--I'm trying to get better at leaving them alone and giving them time to adjust. I've gotten better at being able to tell water needs by the weight of the pot/looking at the leaves (as the moisture meter I was using failed me), but with new plants or when I've upgraded a plant to a bigger pot, it takes me a bit to figure it out. I live in the Bay Area of California, so don't have a heating system/AC in my apartment, but do have room heaters. Typically, only a few weeks of the year do we experience significant highs and lows. So I won't be able to try the furnace, but can keep an eye out for how it does if the temperature gets low. And yes! Thank you-- The wooden stand is just temporary. I'm hoping to get a better looking stand for it/outer pot this weekend. When I got worried it could be some kind of pest infestation, I put it on the block to move it a bit further away from the other plants. Appreciate the feedback!