What I've learned about having your ears pierced...

After watching thousands of women try on my earrings over the last 37+ years, I've learned a lot about having your ears pierced and what's really important.

1. Finding someone you trust to do the actual piercing is the most important. Whether it's a Doctor or the store in the mall with the piercing gun, make sure they follow sterile procedures. And my first choice would be a Doctor that uses the gun since it's quick, sterile and as painless as any piercing can be. Do not use the self piercing earrings that I did because I thought my Mom wouldn't notice. Trust me, waiting for parental consent is much easier.
2. Take someone with you, regardless of your age. Yes they can hold your hand but more importantly they are looking at your earlobe from a different angle and can tell you if you're putting that little dot somewhere weird. What may look great to you when looking straight into a mirror may be the totally wrong position when you go to actually wear earrings. And don't put it too far down on your lobe because as you age your ears keep growing and if fashion ever dictates heavy earrings again, you're asking for stretched out or torn holes.
3. Pay close attention not just to the position of the dot but the angle that the piercing goes in. Both up and down and side to side will affect your entire earring wearing life. If you ever want to wear hoops, be especially careful or you could have hoops going in two different directions. And trust me again, it's not a good look.
4. They'll let you choose your starter earrings so choose carefully because you have to love them for at least 6 weeks last I heard. And there are very few earrings that I could love that long!
5. And then there are all those instructions that they give you for after care. Those things we tend to not listen too because we're too busy admiring our freshly pierced lobes. Listen to them and follow them exactly. If they tell you to turn them a certain number of times a day, do it. Because it hurts like heck to do it if you haven't been doing it regularly. If they say leave the earrings in without changing for 6 weeks, don't do it a minute earlier. In fact if you can hold out another week, do it. You want the best possible results for long term use.
6. Finally the time comes for you to take out the starters and put in sparkling new earrings. Make sure they're clean. Make sure your earlobe is clean. Change them often. 
7. And of course, the best place to find interesting earrings is at an art fair. Handmade by the artist in the booth who can adjust them if you put them on and discover that despite all your diligence, your holes are crooked...