! Make sure that your ears are pierced before you try to put in an earring. If possible, visit a professional piercer at the mall or at a tattoo parlor. The earring will go in much more easily if you've already pierced the ear in question. Make sure that the gauge of your piercing matches the gauge of the ring. If you are feeling especially bold, try piercing your ears at home. Be careful to sterilize all of your equipment. Consider asking a more experienced friend for help.
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One-sentence summary -- Pierce your ears

Q: Clubs can be a great place to meet new people. You're more likely to make friends with people who share your interests and passions. Try joining a club related to an activity you love. Do you love books? Join a book club. Are you an avid sports fan? Try joining a local football or softball league. You can go to a local community center and see what types of clubs they offer. You can also look for clubs online through sites like MeetUp. Check out alumni events for your high school, college, sorority, fraternity, etc. Make a habit of putting yourself out there in public. You never know who may become a friend. The random stranger you meet on the subway or the person you strike up a conversation with in a bar bathroom may become a lifelong pal. Try to be more social. If someone starts talking to you, talk back. Obviously, if you feel uncomfortable with someone, disengage, but try to give new interactions a chance. If you meet someone interesting at, say, a coffee shop, try exchanging numbers or social media profiles. You can get together with this person later for a drink or coffee. Consider trying to talk to one new person every time you go out. This small goal can help build comfort with meeting new people as you practice over time. Try, too, attending events with a social component such as lectures or town hall meetings with group/public participation. This can increase your chances of finding someone you have interests in common with. If you want to meet people, put yourself out there. Work on saying "Yes" more. You will end up making friends if you agree to be social more often. If a co-worker invites you to a party, go. Even if you feel lukewarm about this co-worker, you never know what could happen. There could be someone fun and interesting at the party who you become friends with. Try saying "yes" to Facebook invitations. You may not know the friend of a friend who invited you to their birthday party, but you may meet people there. This is also an opportunity to get to know an existing acquaintance more. If you're having trouble meeting new people, try reaching out to family. It can sometimes be hard to be friends with siblings, cousins, and other family members when growing up, as rivalries and arguments get in the way; however, many people find close friends in family members later in life. If you and a sibling or cousin live in the same town, try making plans more often. The two of you may find you get along great as friends in adulthood. Many people form strong bonds of friendship with family members. As you get older, you may find a sibling or a cousin becomes a best friend. Is there a coffee shop you love or a bar you enjoy? Try becoming a regular. Many people end up making friends simply by hanging out at a bar or coffee shop. Eventually, you'll get to know the staff and other patrons. Don't be shy about going out alone. Many people enjoy having a drink or a cup of coffee on their own once in awhile. Bring a book or a laptop if that makes you feel more comfortable, just be mindful to make conversation with people and appear approachable.
A: Join a club. Reach out to others when you go out. Say "Yes" to more activities. Make friends with family members. Become a regular somewhere.

Article: Your vet will perform a physical examination, which includes being alert for other problems that can cause pain and mimic back ache. The vet will support the dog's back end and turn the back of the paw so that it rests on the ground. This is to check the dog is aware the paw is in the wrong position and correct it. Not to do so could indicate nerve damage. The vet will also check for other nerve reflexes, such as the ability to feel pain in the toes, as an indication of whether there is nerve damage or not. The vet will gently feel along the spine, being especially alert for local areas of tenderness and muscle "fasciculation," which is where the muscles twitch because they are sensitized to pain. If back pain is confirmed, the vet may suggest imaging to check what is causing the pain. Sources of pain include disc disease, spinal arthritis, spondylitis (infection in the vertebra), inflammatory nerve disease, muscle sprains and strains. A diagnostic test commonly used at veterinary clinics is to take x-rays of the spine. Each section of the back is x-rayed in turn (depending on where the suspected damage is), such as the neck, chest, and lower back. Two views are usually taken of each area so as to provide a cross reference: One view taken from the side (the lateral) and one from above or below (the dorso-ventral or ventro-dorsal). Radiography can provide helpful information about the bones of the spine and the spaces between them, but it cannot provide a picture of the spinal cord itself. For this more advanced imaging methods are needed. A limitation of x-rays is they can be misleading. For example, a narrowed space between two vertebra is abnormal and suggest that the disc is diseased. However, the disc may have ruptured harmlessly to one side and avoided pressurizing the spinal cord. Thus, x-rays can give a clues, which can be interpreted in the light of clinical signs as giving a diagnosis. More sophisticated imaging techniques, where available, have taken over from x-rays. These sophisticated techniques can visualize the spinal cord itself. Thus if a disc has prolapsed into the spine, the clinician will be able to see the "waistline" in the spine where it is compressed. This is vital information if specialist decompression surgery is being considered, as it allows the surgeon to know exactly which discs are involved, so they operate in the correct place. Unfortunately, MRI and CT scans are costly. In addition, the dog also needs to be anesthetized so that it keeps still in the scanner. This will have an additional cost, as well as a further health risk for the dog.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Take your dog for a veterinary exam. Consent to your vet giving the dog an x-ray. Ask your veterinarian about getting an MRI or CT scan instead of an x-ray.