I'm a primary school teacher. My school has been tolerant of the way I look. The only time it has been mentioned is in passing at the start of the year thrown in with the other advice for dress; "don't show too much cleavage" and "try and keep tattoos covered if you can".

I always thought that I was going to be a "visably modded" person in a care position to make a point that good people come in all packages - that yes I have tattoos, piercings and coloured hair, but that doesn't make a difference to the fact that I am a good person, and bit by bit we can help change people's perspective. I also felt that the way I looked was a representation of my culture and upbringing, and just as valid as any other way that people show this.

Three years into my career and I currently have no visable mods. For me it's the flip side of the coin - if it makes no difference to the person I am, why do other people need to know about it? I'm the equivalent of a kindergarten teacher - so when parents hand their kids over to me it can be the first time they have ever separated from them. I want them to know that I am awesome at this and they absolutely can trust that their little one is in safe hands. As awful as it is, this is easier to achieve without piercings and making a difference in the education world became more important to me than my own taste in aesthetics.

However, as the year goes on and I've won the parents/kids over I start to talk about it more... my hair gets a little brighter.. my shoulder tattoo comes out etc. By this point people don't really notice because they've already made their judgement about me and then it's more of a "oh yes, of course Miss Jess has tattoos". I feel that I have won more people over this way than by forcing it on them at the start, and trying to push them in the accepting it.

So basically my view has changed. I realised that there were bigger fights to be had in the education world than, what comparatively felt like, a selfish argument of of me being able to look like I want. I realised that these arguments were going to be more easily won if I wasn't obvious with my commitment to body mods so I tone it down when it suits me to, and then can play it up when it suits me to.

At the end if the day, having mods is about my choices for my body - it's no one else's business, and I don't feel like I need them to know about it to be happy with the way that my body looks.