At A Glance
Author	__reclamation
Contact	[email protected]
When	N/A

I've always been fascinated with body modification, and with anything artistic & expressing creativity, and I think that's the bottom line that links my mods, how I look, my worldview & my personality together: creativity. I could write reams on why I have certain mods, but all I'll say is that some of them have been done for purely aesthetic reasons; because I wanted to do something different; for deep spiritual reasons; to mark a specific event or change in my life and thinking, and some because I wanted to express something deeply important to me. Most of them have had a few different aspects to them. I currently have three tattoos, six piercings and plans for more of both.

However, I don't want to make my mods the focus of what I'm writing about. I want to make the other things I've done as a modified person the focus of this, because of something that Shannon wrote about how those of us with mods should be proud of our positive achievements and let those be known to others. I've had mixed reactions to the mods I have and to the way I look in general, but most of it is negative, which I accept is going to happen when you look outside of the mainstream [as I write this, as well as my tattoos and piercings, I have half of my head shaved, black and pink dreadlocks, shaved and drawn-on eyebrows, black clothes and platform boots. I accept that I stand out & most people think at best I'm A Little Bit Odd]. I don't particularly *like* the fact that whenever I venture out of the house I'm met with stares, comments and in some cases physical violence/intimidation, but it goes with the territory. It won't stop me getting more mods, and it won't stop me being who I am.

I'm sure that when people are staring some of them are probably thinking, "I'm glad she's not my daughter/sister/mother/girlfriend/wife", etc, but why? Because I have tattoos and piercings? Because I have no eyebrows? Along with those modifications and weird things that make me stand out and probably make people think I'm unintelligent, violent and generally A Bad Person, I also have a mind, a personality and a heart. While I might not look like the most approachable or attractive human being to the majority, I'm still just that: a human being.

And sometimes people forget that underneath the tattoos and the dreads, there's a real person. And that's why I'm writing this: to show that we ARE real people and we contribute a lot to society. When I left school I went to college and then to university, I worked hard to get qualifications, to better my life. I've dedicated a lot of my free time over the years to providing a shoulder to cry on for anyone online who needed it: I've been told by various people that if it wasn't for me talking to them and giving them advice and help when they needed it they might not be here now. Some of those people have learned from my negative experiences with self harming that behaviours they thought were harmless could lead them down the same road and now actively look for positive outlets for their anger and pain. I've worked with children with reading difficulties: some of those kids now work as well as their peers and have an equal chance at the education I've got and have looked me in the eye and told me they've made that progress because of me. I've worked with autistic kids, I've cared for my disabled parents, I've raised money for charity. For the last three years I've been doing a degree, and depending on the results of that I'm going back to university to do a Masters degree.

And that's what this is about: what modified people do. A lot of us work hard; we get a good education to support ourselves and our families; we do charity work; sometimes, in some way, we save lives. Or we make lives better. Starting with our own, by exploring our own bodies and by being unafraid to challenge the status quo, and by wearing our experiences on the outside. I know I can't speak for all modified people out there, and my achievements may be small compared to others', but I'm proud to be tattooed and pierced, I'm proud of all the things I've accomplished in my life, and I urge any other modded people to be proud of theirs too, and to let people know what's underneath the mods.

So, if you see a tattooed, pierced, modified person on the street, before you wonder whether they're a violent, masochistic criminal [or any of the other stereotypes associated with body modifications], or just plain Weird, before you start thinking about the negative connotations of that person's mods, think that they might have done some good in peoples' lives. Think about the fact that they might well be an intelligent, caring, hardworking, decent person that you'd be proud to know. I think I am.