Stretched

I had a friend who got into gauges—started stretching his earlobes with increasingly large jewelry, the whole flesh tunnel thing. At first it actually looked fine, maybe even cool in that committed way. But after a few years it became hard to look at. The earlobes don’t bounce back the way you’d think. They’re just permanently changed, stretched out, different in a way that played better when the trend was still alive.

I never went that route. Partly cowardice, partly just not caring, but I watched enough people deal with it to feel relief that I didn’t. The strange thing about extreme body modification is that it works when you’re young and in the moment, everyone doing versions of the same thing. Then time moves on and the trend dies and you’re just living with a decision your twenty-year-old self made for the rest of your life.

Some people who stretched their ears have regrets now. Some don’t, but they’re aware of it in a way that suggests the regret was at least considered. It becomes something you carry—you either own it or you’re quietly managing it, but you can’t pretend it didn’t happen. It’s on your face.

I’m glad it wasn’t me. Not because there’s anything wrong with it. Just because my ears got to stay unmarked and unremarkable, and watching other people navigate permanent choices makes that feel like a gift.