The only thing I wanted to do for my 18th birthday was get a tattoo. I had made the appointment months in advance to go to Sullivan's, a shop on Strawberry Alley where my father went several years ago.
A lot of what I realized is my own personal opinion, but maybe it will help you in deciding whether or not to get one, or at least give you a better idea.
1. Deciding will be hard, until it isn't. For me, I had known I wanted a tattoo since I was in middle school, but the question was always what. First I wanted a tattoo based on "Boondock Saints," and then I wanted something My Chemical Romance-related on my wrist (I'm still getting that), but decided that I needed to wait on something so visible. I decided about a year ago what I really wanted: Calcifer from "Howl's Moving Castle." After seeing a Starbucks barista with a Studio Ghibli sleeve, the idea has been in the back of my head for the longest time. I knew that's what I wanted.
What exactly of Calcifer did I want though? That was the hardest question. I waited until the night before to decide that I wanted to redraw (or rather, have my boyfriend redraw) two different Calcifer poses to make one that I liked best. I don't know that I'd recommend procrastinating, but when you really figure out what you want, it will click. You shouldn't be hesitating. That being said...
2. You are going to be nervous. I hate pain, and even though I knew I'd endure it anyway, I felt a sense of fear and excitement brewing when I got out of the car. We were early, and I was not prepared for what was ahead of me. I actually felt like I might throw up. That mostly went away when he started drawing on me, because then it was happening and I was ready to go.
3. The pain is tolerable, but there will be other kinds of pain, too. I was pleased that it wasn't an unbearable pain on my upper arm (which isn't a bad place to do your first tattoo), and even when he went over places a third or fourth time and it really started to hurt, I felt fine. It was the pain of sitting down for nearly three hours, and losing feeling in my hand because of the tattoo, that really started to bother me. I wasn't expecting it, which made it worse.
4. Your skin will peel. For me, I felt like I was in some horror movie because when I reapplied my lotion a few days down the line, a piece of skin came off. I was so scared that I had done something wrong because of how extreme it was. I hadn't; everything was just fine. I was careful not to pull more than my skin was ready for, and I showered when I messed with it at all so the skin would be moist and less likely to scab.
5. Having someone recognize your tattoo is the best thing. A lot of my friends know who Calcifer is, and they expected me to get some sort of tattoo of Studio Ghibli. It was when a girl at Wendy's was smiling at me like we knew each other (and then confessed that she loved my tattoo) that I felt the warm glow of pride. I can only hope more people will recognize it in the future.
6. You'll want more. The moment I finished my first tattoo I asked, "When are you free next?" That happens to be August 1, and I still don't know exactly what I'm getting.
