I'm currently 9/16. And I would never give up my stretched ears. I love em!
I had to give up a lot of my piercings (tragus, tounge, industrial, rook, etc.) and cover up some of my tats b/c of my job. I dont like to conform with my surrounding environment but if its going to pay my bills, I have to suck it up. Luckily, my boss doesn’t care about the gauges.
When I was 15, I started with a 6. But once I hit a 0, my damn ears started getting larger by it self. Now a days, I go a day without any jewelry and it shrinks to ½. Then I wear jewelry for a straight week, and the ½ gauges fall out of my ears while I’m sleeping or showering. I think it’s funny.
The only thing I hate about stretched ears is the SMELL! Eww! Like dirty belly button, haha.