I got my first tattoo during my first year of college. It was a day like any other day; I was hanging out with a few friends in our dorm, trying to figure out something to do. I knew I wanted to get a tattoo eventually, but couldn't decide where and what exactly I wanted. I wanted it to be simple, but meaningful. I wanted it to be detailed, but on the small side. I had a few ideas, but could never really make up my mind. Regardless of my uncertainty, I decided I wanted to be spontaneous and get a tattoo that day. No planning, no doubting, just doing. So we hopped on a bus downtown, entered a shop I had heard good things about, and explained to the tattoo artist what my idea was. Less than an hour after my sudden decision, I was walking out the door with a huge bandage on my foot and a tattoo I love even more today than I did then.
It's been over two years since my first tattoo experience, and I've gotten two more tattoos since then. I don't plan on stopping, either. I think tattoos are beautiful. They are art for the body. They can symbolize so much, or nothing at all. That's the fun in tattoos. They have their own unique story behind them, and they mean different things to different people.
The most frustrating thing about tattoos isn't the aftercare, nor is it the painful vibrating whilst getting one. It's the stigma attached to having tattoos. It's being labeled as something that maybe you aren't. It's the fear of being judged. Even the most confident of people sometimes let others' perceptions of them knock them down. But we can't let those who judge take away from something we love.
Say it with me:
These are my tattoos. This is my body. This is my art. You don't get to have a say about what I do to MY body.
And that's all there is to it.
Instead of telling each other not to get tattoos for the impact they could potentially have on someone's life overall, we need to teach each other something a lot more simple: To stop judging others by appearance. Stop telling people they can't get a job with a tattoo. Stop telling them they won't be taken seriously. Stop saying they're going to regret getting tattoos one day. Stop being negative to other people over your own opinions! No one is forcing you to get a tattoo. You have the right over your own body not to get one. Let others share that right over his or her own body if he or she wants or has them.
We were each given one body in this life. Do as you will with your own body. It's a lot more fulfilling, trust me.
