As soon as I set eyes upon the building, my stomach dropped and all adventurous feelings left me entirely. For some reason, the image I had had in my mind did not match the reality. The windows were tinted so much so that I couldn’t see inside, the exterior was shabby and uninviting, and there was a homeless man sitting a few doors down from the entrance. Needless to say, I didn’t feel very safe.

In spite of this opinion, my three roommates forced me inside – they didn’t seem to share the same apprehensive view as me. Without delay, they walked to the counter and got the attention of the first guy they saw.

“Welcome to Ink Assassins. What can I do for you ladies?” he asked.

One of my roommates responded instantly: “We want to get piercings.”

“I don’t. Only these two are getting something done,” I said right away, trying to ignore my friends’ disapproving looks.

After the paperwork was filled out and their IDs were copied, the guy led us all to the piercing room. While he cleaned the needles and got the jewelry ready, we were instructed to sit on the table. It was piercing time.

The first person got her rook done, and because of our professional hand-holder (the roommate with absolutely no interest in getting any piercings), she barely flinched.

Then, it was my other friend’s turn, and she wanted to get a diamond stud for her tragus. At this point, I started to regret my decision of not getting anything done.

I guess the look on my face was pretty readable, because the guy started telling me that I should stop being a baby and just get a piercing. My roommates quickly joined in with the tantalizing, saying that they would make fun of me if I left without getting something.

So I agreed to get my tragus done too. I knew that I would end up getting it at some point in my life, and this day was as good as any other.

Thankfully, it didn’t hurt that much – I think closing my eyes and squeezing my roommates’ hand helped. And once I looked at my ear in the mirror, I couldn’t have been happier with the decision I made. It looked exactly how I pictured it would, and I loved it.

You may be wondering how this has anything to do with life. I mean, it’s such an insignificant thing, right? Wrong. This wasn’t just about an ear piercing, it was about being adventurous.

Sometimes, you have to step outside of your comfort zone and do something different with your life. I’m not saying that you should rush out to get a tattoo or anything like that, I just think you should let yourself be impulsive every once in a while.

I’m sure that, deep down, all of you want to do something that isn’t typical of your character. Well, why don’t you just do it? You’re young, and as long as it doesn’t entail risking your life, you should take the chance while you can.

If you don’t want to be too risky, start by doing something small, like getting a piercing – at least you can take it out.