For some odd reason many people are against getting tattoos of any kind. To them, it is a stupid mistake that one day down the road you will regret. To me, getting a tattoo is like having a connection with something for the rest of your life. Yes they are there forever and once you have one it is extremely hard to remove, if you can remove it at all, but if it means something to you then you shouldn’t have to even think about removing it once you have it. Getting a tattoo is a symbol of something that happened in your life whether that symbol is blatant in the tattoo itself or if it has a hidden meaning within the tattoo. No matter what, the symbol is still there and that is what I like about tattoos; they almost always mean something to someone.
Now whether this tattoo you got is a symbol of a drunk night out with your friends or a specific event that happened in your life, it means something to you. By no means am I telling you to go out and get a tattoo. I am also not telling you that I think you should get a tattoo for every single event that has happened in your life and been even somewhat important to you. You can serve in the army at the age of 18, you can live in your own house or apartment at age 18 and in some countries you can even drink at the age of 18. This is the age that you are trusted to make life decisions so yes you are old enough to decide if you want something on your body for the rest of your life at the age of 18. It’s your body, you should and you can do what you want with it. Tattoos aren’t a bad thing to have, they tell a story. They tell your story.
Everybody has a story to tell, just not everybody likes to tell their story aloud. Tattoos are a way to tell your story without actually having to tell people what may have happened to you. Your body is your journal, your tattoos are your story. You may not be completely open with events that have happened throughout your life until you get that tattoo that describes it.
My tattoo is the picture at the top of this article, it is pretty obvious the event that happened in my life to make me want to get the tattoo in the first place. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was in 4th grade and that is something that has been a huge part of my life. Until I had my tattoo done, I was not very open about it with people; even my close friends didn’t always know.
I am proud of my tattoo because it helps me know how strong my mom had to be during that time and how strong she still is today while she continues on living her life with our crazy family. It inspires me to hopefully one day be as strong as she is.
If you’re going to get a tattoo, make sure it means something to YOU. Don’t listen to what other people say about them if you are sure it is something that you want to do. It will be with you for the rest of your life so you need to make sure it is something that you believe in. There are people who are probably going to judge you for getting them and people that don’t necessarily approve of them, trust me I know, but if it means something to you then that’s all that matters. “My body is my journal, and my tattoos are my story,” Johnny Depp said this. He’s right, my tattoo tells a story. It tells my story.
