Get a tattoo

“Will it hurt __?” “Will it hurt __?” (obviously fill in the blank with a body part.)

The answer is YES. It hurts to get a tattoo. They are putting ink UNDER your skin. It hurts worse to some in some areas than others. ( it depends on your pain tolerance, how big of a baby you are about it, and the area of your body that is sensitive to you personally. It’s different for everyone.)

I think with tattoos, what you should not worry about is the pain. Your body has natural reflexes that help with pain. You’ll feel it at first, and then it sort of washes over you and evens out, your body naturally adjusts to the level that it feels. (cool, huh.) But it’s also like labor pains, you forget after it’s done and you don’t really remember how bad it was. (and for some people, it’s not bad at all.)

Worry about the design and whether or not you’ll want that same tattoo in 50 years and also, how you and your tattoo artist get along. Like that girl below that’s not all that excited about her tattoo. That should NEVER happen.

Make sure you draw it with someone you really LOVE and trust and take the design (or a copy) home with you.

-DON’T just walk into any old tattoo parlor and plop down in the seat to be done by any ol person. CHOOSE someone. Go ask a LOT of people that have tattoos that you really think are awesome, ask them where they got it and what their experience was like. Do they want to go back? Did they have issues?

- DON’T rush things!!!! You’ll have it forever, so take patience and actually work with someone over the design that is perfect for you. Ask them to redraw it, if need be. If they’re an asshole about redrawing, RUN!!!!! They can’t be trusted. They’ll do something you don’t like and you won’t be able to be open about what you like and don’t like. MAKE SURE IT’S YOUR TATTOO!!!! (And for heaven’s sake, don’t choose something off the wall. Be original and make sure you LOVE it. You’re the one stuck with it, not the tattoo guy/girl/whatever.)

Wait a week or so to get it done. NEVER IN ONE SITTING, my friends. NEVER. This is something that will be with you forever, take the time to do it right. You won’t have a “do-over” once it’s inked into you. (That includes vacation tattoos!!!! My god, have I seen some BAD vacation tattoos.SO NOT WORTH IT. Seemed like a good idea at the time? Think again. Not a good idea. Don’t ever do permanent things to your body on a whim.)

- And when you do go in to have it done, DON’T drink before hand. NEVER DRINK. It impairs your judgement on what you want and don’t want, also it makes you bleed more. Alcahol thins your blood and the last thing you want is a dripping with blood tattoo. It should never bleed a lot. Bleeding a lot is a very bad sign. ( No advil or ibuprofen either. They also thin your blood and make you bleed easier.)

Get a temporary design put on the place where you want the tattoo and wear it around for a while, see if you like the spot on your body. (ESPECIALLY if it’s your first tattoo.) Most people hate their first tattoo and think they were idiots who didn’t know what they were doing when they did it. Seriously, that really is a common reaction years later.

Think long and hard about getting one in a place that’s visable to the public. I can’t tell you HOW MANY PEOPLE fondle my arm where I have my tattoo, without asking. I work in a resteraunt where I see hundreds of people every night, it gets annoying after a while. (although I’m thankful for the flattery…) Plus, it hinders jobs and gives you a whole different “public personality” to how people view you.

Where I live, tattoos are the norm, when I go to middle America, people stare. In Europe, people think I’m trashy, tattoos are not common there at all. THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU GET INKED!!!!

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!! Tattoos are such a gorgeous art form, I just want everyone to LOVE what they get!!!!!!!!!

I got a flower design on my arm a couple years ago and I don’t regret it for a second. I get compliments every day. I work in a fancy resteraunt that doesn’t make me cover it up, even little old ladies love it, and they get to see it thanks tot eh awesome policy there. Some people think it’s fake because it look so much like a painting. People ask to touch it to see if they can feel paint! haha.

Would I get another? Yeah, but I’d think about it long and hard before doing it. I thought about this one for years, and now I jsut don’t have the same drive and inpiration for another. Some day I think it’ll come to me, but I really think tattoos are personal and someone needs to really think about it from all angles.

Like: is it offensive to some people? are you okay with that? do you want to see it EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE? Is it a fad that will not be so trendy a year or ten years from now and you’ll hate it? Is it in a place that will stretch and distort if you gained weight? What about work? Can you see it really easily? You might get a job that a tattoo will give the wrong impression, you might regret that! ( I had an unfortunate episode with Alaska Airlines when I got a job there…)

But other than that cautionary advice, get what you love! Get art that is gorgeous and only looks good for you, on you! have fun! And BE SAFE!!!! Sterile!!!! and NOT with ball point pen ink!!! hahaha.