April 22nd, 2017. That was it, the big day. I was getting my first tattoo! Wahoo! Getting a tattoo was something I have wanted to do for quite a few years now because why not? I had one symbol in mind for all of those years so I knew I wouldn't change my mind. I had told some of my friends and my mom that I was going to do it and no one believed me. But, realistically why would they? I pass out just thinking about needles, (sadly I'm not joking about that one, it's happened).
One day my mom said that if I got one she would too. OMG YAY! We can go together! I'm no rebel so of course, I would take my mom with me anyway. I went home for the weekend to see a show in downtown Chicago so it seemed like a good weekend to get it done.
While walking around Logan Square, my mom said, "let's just do it". Like, freak me out much? We went to Chicago Ink to get it done. Walking in let me tell you, I was hella sweating. I don't do well with needles so the deep breathing started before I even told the guy what I wanted. My advice for anyone who is afraid of needles like myself is to really sike yourself up before you get a tattoo. Don't think that it's going to hurt that much or that a needle is pressing into your skin. Think of it as something you have always wanted to do and now you have art on your body.
What surprised me was that it didn't actually hurt that much. I got a trinity sign in my wrist because what else would a 100% Irish girl get? The only part that hurt was the end corner because it was the closest to my wrist bone. Otherwise, totally not that bad. And it only took like 8 minutes. I don't think I could have sat there any longer though. Props to the people that have huge tattoos that take hours to create. You definitely have more patience than me.
Looking back it was definitely not as bad as some would think. Honestly, have thought about getting another one since then. But damn, can they be expensive. Probably not anytime soon but my fear has definitely lessened. Now, I can cross something off my bucket list. I immediately texted my brother because I finally beat him to something! Wahoo! I'm all grown up now!
A wise woman (aka my cousin Kim) once said that all of life is now or never. So why not now? I'm going to try new things in 2017 and check off that bucket list. It only takes a few seconds to decide to do something. So why not just do it? Here's to facing your fears and trying new things in 2017. And hey, we're only a couple months in so far, plenty of time left.
