Are you on the fence about getting a tattoo? Are you worried about pain? Maybe you're just not sure on what you want to get. If pain is your issue, let me reassure you that it is not that bad. I have personally never been good with pain, but I now have two tattoos; one on the back of my shoulder and one on the side of my calf. I am not here to pressure you into a tattoo; what I am here to do is fill you in on what my experience was like and possibly help you feel more at ease if you are thinking about getting one.

I think the best place for me to start is before I got my first tattoo. I knew I always wanted one, but like I mentioned before I was terrible with pain. I can't get shots without flinching. I went into the parlor shaking and when I actually scheduled the tattoo I felt like I was gonna be sick. I knew that I would not be getting tattooed that day, but for some reason it had given me bad anxiety. When you grow up afraid of needles, you just assume that pain is involved, which it is, and that it will last for about a day or two. When I was talking to the person behind the desk, I had noticed how he had tattoos not only on his arms, but on places like his neck and head as well. This is when I began to become more at ease and realize this would most likely not be as bad as I thought. I also had comfort in knowing my artist had done what I wanted since it was in his portfolio.

I was extremely nervous the day of getting my first tattoo. Ironically, I was not as nervous walking into the tattoo parlor that day as I was walking in to schedule an appointment. I still think it was because I had never set foot in a tattoo parlor before, so I had no idea what to expect the first time. As soon as my artist had walked out from his room for me, I felt my heart drop to my chest. I knew that I wanted this, but I was nervous about pain. I knew this wasn't going to feel like a bed of roses, rather it would feel more like thorns from said bed. I was shaky, and thankfully my best friend was there with me to help keep me calm. If you think that you may not be able to do this alone, some places, if not most, allow someone to come with you for support. My tattoo artist was extremely easy going with that, and actually talked with the both of us as he worked. If it had not been for that, that tattoo would have felt as if it took more than two hours. My first tattoo was finished in an hour and 45 minutes, and to this day I still love it just as much. I do not remember how much pain I was in with this tattoo, but I do remember at some points I was flinching. With this tattoo I had more issues with coloring than I did with the line work. The other problem I faced was itching. This tattoo began itching a few days after I got it, so I was constantly applying lotion and gently slapping it.

Now I am going to flash forward to the tattoo I got recently. The third time I entered the shop I had no issue scheduling an appointment, and thankfully I got the same artist who did my first one. The first one I had scheduled June 2nd, 2016, and I was in on the 25th of June. With this next one I had scheduled it in July, then I got it done on December 29th, 2016. As time got closer for this one, I did become slightly nervous. I had no set image for it, but I knew that I wanted a Lion King tattoo. As I began to wonder what I was going to do, I remembered that I have friends who are artistic. I went to my best friend to see if she could possibly sketch something up for me, and two days before we went to get this applied, we came up with this:

It was amazing to see how my thoughts went from spoken word to art on a page. Once this was drawn up I knew I could feel better. With my first tattoo I had known what I wanted, but the problem was I had to wait longer and discuss with my artist about what exactly I wanted to go where. I feel like it was better for me to come in with this image so both he and I had a physical representation, and we were able to easier discuss what I wanted.

When it came time to actually putting this tattoo on, I felt way more pain with this one than I did with my supernatural tattoo. I personally think it was because of the fact that it was taking up a larger surface area, but who knows. I had some issues with being able to keep my leg from shaking as he started. Let me explain something to you: rather than having me sit up like he did for the first tattoo, I was laying on my side with my leg hanging over the edge of a chair so he was able to tattoo it. I was also getting cramps, so I had to ask him to stop about three times. When the line work first started was when I had the most problems with not only shaking, but pain as well. This tattoo had me wincing with the line work and relaxed with the coloring. Again: if it wasn't for my best friend and tattoo artist this tattoo would have taken way longer. They managed to distract me by talking, and ultimately we ended up with this amazing end product. One thing similar between these tattoos is the itching stage. Both started about the same time, and both did not let up without a fight.

Tattoos can be different for everyone. Some feel no pain at all, while others may be squeezing something for dear life. I have personally experienced both ends of the spectrum when it came to these two tattoos. I do plan on getting more in the future, and they all have special meanings to me. I wish you the best of luck on your tattoo journey if you decide to follow through with it.