Subtle Addiction; Burning Stereotype

I know I talk about stereotypes a lot, but they're definitely a huge part of my life and American culture.

A few weeks ago, someone made the comment that "no one here is ghetto with piercings and tattoos;" needless to say, I freaked out on him.  I asked if I looked ghetto, and when he said no I showed him my tattoos and piercings. He was stunned into silence because piercings and tattoos wouldn't be expected from an "innocent Christian girl" such as myself.

This past week, I got 2 more piercings - my rook and my tragus. I was scared that they would hurt really badly, but they were just like my cartilage piercing, and my belly button was still the worst piercing as far as pain goes (the numbing didn't work, I saw the giant needle, etc.).  

For the past few months, I've been planning my next tattoo that I hope to get after school on my 18th birthday. Even though my birthday is not for a few months, I know if I have a plan it will give me something to look forward to through the long winter months. I think I've decided what I want, and I have a plan for a few other tattoos that I want to get with my best friend, my brother, and my mom.

Nearly every employer with an online application asks the question, "Do you have any piercings, tattoos, etc., that cannot be easily covered (ie. face, arms)?" Why does this matter? So many people around the world have piercings and tattoos that can and can't be easily covered; its normal to see other people with tattoos, piercings, and even stretched ears, nearly anywhere in a public place.  Fortunately, my employer doesn't require me to cover my tattoos because so many of the gymnasts' parents have them.

Needless to say, I might have a small addiction to tattoos and piercings.  They hurt like hell, but I love them all the same. I think tattoos help you find yourself when you're lost on one of life's roads; piercings are a more temporary form of self-expression that show people that you're willing to live through pain.  If tattoos and piercings mean so much to me (and to others like myself), why should we be judged for them? Why should I be "contradicting" my religion (that doesn't have a problem with clean tattoos) with tattoos and piercing? What difference does it make to other people, if my tattoos and piercings have meaning to me? 

First Tattoo 07/2011:

Second Tattoo 12/2011:

Ear Piercings (cartilage, tragus, rook, lobes x2) 11/2012:

Am I ghetto now?

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Time Is Everything

I have to wake up by a certain time to get to work. I have to clock-in to work by a certain time. I have to set up the gym for my first class by a certain time. I have to start my first class at a certain time. I have to warmup and rotate my class at a certain time. I have to finish my class at a certain time. I have to bring in the next class at a certain time. I have to leave work at a certain time. I have to work on my homework for only a certain amount of time (due to my concussion). I have to be asleep by a certain time in order to wake up by a certain time.

I have a type-A personality, I have to schedule my life so I don't forget to do anything.  I don't have a problem with everything being scheduled and timed; I'm completely lost without it.

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'MURICA

Top news stories of the world, according to http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/

• There's massive fighting on the Gaza Strip between Israelis and Palestinians
• Iran has 2800 centrifuges to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons
• Iraq released a militant who is accused of killing US soldiers
• Japan's Prime Minister has decided for parliament elections in mid-December, without the approval of his party, in an attempt to get the political parties to work together
• China has a whole cabinet of new leaders
• There was another explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico
• Over $5,000,000 has been collected for the victims of the Aurora, Colorado massacre 

And what's the top news story in America this week?

• Hostess is going out of business. No more Twinkies.

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Leotards

I've been trying to find a new leotard for months - I know what brand I want and what size I need.  The problem, however, is that leotards come in a small color scale.  Nearly every pattern that isn't animal print or obnoxious is pink. PINK.  Looking at GK Elite's leotards, how is a teen gymnast who doesn't like pink supposed to find a leotard she likes? 
Going through pages and pages of leotards, I've never found one that was less than $70 that I liked (and I'm not spending that much on a leotard, ever).  Between the animal print, America colors, just plain ugly, leotards are one of the hardest things for me to shop for.  
Why does GK Elite, along with other leotard companies within the gymnastics world, insist on the abundance of pink leotards? At the gym where I work, nearly every girl has a pink leotard because that's all she can find - and half of them don't even like pink! I think the abundance of pink leotards will last perpetually because gymnasts aren't willing to stand up to their leotard companies.  Looking at competitive gymnasts, next to no one has a pink leotard representing their team colors, especially the highly competitive gyms. 
The sport of gymnastics is highly stereotyped - girls must be dainty and perfect in order to be successful.  As a sport that's already stereotyped enough, why should we be forced to wear pink leotards, a stereotypically female color? 

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