Nose Rings and Individuality: a Common Misconception

By Claire Ingebretsen

I've been itching for a nose ring. No pun intended. I've wanted one mainly to mark the evolution of myself from child to adult, and for whatever reason a nose ring signified that.

Now you may be thinking you don't give a flying fudge about, my tween angst, you have more important things to worry about well I completely agree with you, permit me to back up my premise.

The reason I decided to get my nose pierced was because I was finishing my freshmen year of college, and felt as though I needed to express my individuality- ipso facto, nose ring. For those of you who know me, you know that I didn't up getting one, because my parents wouldn't let me.

Yes, my parents do have a say in my life, and no I'm not happy about it. But I digress.

I felt very strongly that I needed to express my independence and personality free from my family, friends, and the environment I was in. A nose ring, for whatever reason seemed to embody this desire.

I relayed this to my dad who replied that "I should figure out a more creative, and less common way to express myself."

I will be the first to tell you I am so glad he dissuaded me, because he was right.

Glance around you, nose rings are not uncommon. I take exception not with the cosmetics of a nose ring, but I do object to the ubiquity of them. Assuming that a nose ring is a form of self-expression, then people ought to consider their concept of self-expression, much like I had to do.

There's a lot more to my personality than a nose ring, and likewise there are a lot of facets to each of us, which cannot possibly be expressed in one manner or another.

What I'm getting at is that I felt that because I was in college, I had to do something to distinguish myself as an individual apart from my peers and family. 

The mistake I made was in thinking that first I had to do anything, second that a nose ring would express my personality, and third that an expression of my individuality would stop at a nose ring.

When did individuality become something expressed only publicly through word of mouth or act? That assumes that to know yourself you have to prove it to others. Well I loathe that assumption it's absolutely bogus.

Expressing yourself can certainly be an outward expression but it should just as often be about reflection and an internal recognition of who you are now and who you want to be in the future.  

A nose ring, for me at least, was about conforming to what I thought I should do or be. The irony is not lost on me in a quest to distinguish myself, I attempted to become more like my peers. 

The whole culture of college stresses a path to self-discovery through self-expression. Although this is important, I think others and I place too much emphasis on this motif. Perhaps college is just one of many contexts where we can figure out another facet of our personalities.

I wish that a nose ring accurately represented how I see myself, because I know people who do rock the nose ring. But it doesn't, and this realization propels me towards understanding more of who I am and ain't that the truth.