I realize that this is bothering me more then I thought it was. It might sound silly to you but I have figured it out. . . at least part of it anyway. Today I was told by my place of employment that I needed to remove my nose ring. Now lets make a few things clear. 1. I have had this nose piercing for almost 6 years. 2. I have worked at my current place of employment for almost 10 years . . . You do the math! 3. I have had contact with pretty much every higher up in the company at some point in time during the almost 6 years I have had this in. Ok now that its clear. So why all of a sudden does it need to be removed? So as I keep thinking about this (which is what made me realize its bothering me more then I thought), I realize that its because this nose ring has become part of who I am. Part of my identity. Part of the expression of myself.