Just recently I decided to get a tattoo. I have been thinking about getting a tattoo for years, and I finally got the courage to actually go in and get one. I was super nervous right before I went to get it done. After the fact, getting this tattoo was the best decision (spontaneous might I add) that I have ever made and will continue making from here on out.
I wanted something meaningful, especially for my first tattoo. I decided to get a book with pages turning into birds. Some people would ask what that signifies or why that is meaningful. This tattoo represents so much to me. Not only do I love it because I love reading and writing, but it symbolizes life and that each day is a page. There are pages that you flip past and the pages that are yet to come. The book represents who I am. What my story is. The pages that turn into birds represent the fact that life changes. You might be running from something, ignoring people you do not want to talk to, or just throwing out the things in your life that you do not need. These pages represent just that. Not everything and everyone deserves to have a place in your life and these birds flying away represents just that.
See, this tattoo, to me is more than ink on skin. It represents who I am. What I stand for. I find it so interesting when I ask other people about their tattoos. Why did they decide on the tattoo they have? Why place it on a specific body part? Now, I know that everyone has their own stories to their own tattoos. Growing up, I was used to tattoos being abnormal (especially around here). My family was always highly against tattoos as they didn’t understand why you would want to brand skin like that. In their mind, “Tattoos are with you for life. You can’t unchanged it.” This might be true, but who cares? Who are you to judge for someone else’s life? Why are you judging someone for getting a tattoo on their body when you can get piercings and not complain about those?
These tattoos are a symbol of self-expression, it’s art. You might express yourself through cooking and a hobby, but some people express themselves by inking what they want on their bodies, and I do not blame them. Let those speak their mind. I would listen to my family bash on people with tattoos and how they are ‘disgusting’ or ‘trashy’. Maybe to some it could be defined as these, but to others, it’s who they are and I definitely do not understand why people are so quick to judge.
My tattoo was the best decision I have ever made. It may have been spare of the moment, but I would not change a single thing about this tattoo. I have come to terms with the fact that some people, like my family, will never agree on my decision on getting a tattoo; but luckily for them, the tattoo is on my body and not theirs, and I have the right to do whatever the hell I want with it. And I plan on doing just that.
