I've definitely had tattoos on the brain lately. I got my first one in April, a few days after my car crash. It's a memorial for my childhood best friend, a ladybug that says "vale tudo" (Portuguese for "anything goes") around it. I had been planning it since I was 12 years old. Finally I made an appointment at State Street Tattoo. No way was I going to let a car crash get in the way of being so close to something I wanted for so long. Yesterday, I got another tattoo. This one says "atmen," which means "breathe" in German. It's in black tribal-looking script on my right side. This tattoo joins the "vale tudo" ladybug on my left foot. I biked seven miles from my dorm at UMBC to Ghost Town Tattoo in Ellicott City, only to realize I had forgotten my ID. So I biked the seven miles back home and then called a cab to come get me - no way was I going to make it home after getting a tattoo on my ribs anyway. After an hour of tattooing, here is the final product. I think it looks fabulous:
People get tattoos for many reasons. Some are rebelling. Others feel empowered. Sometimes tattoos are used for identification purposes. I chose to be tattooed because I can. I hold the power to decide what goes on my body, what clothes I wear, makeup I put on, shoes in which I torture my feet. I choose to hold certain memories close by physically making them a part of me. Every morning when I wake up I look at my ladybug and smile. My mom always says, "Every time you get a tattoo, another door that you didn't even know was open slams shut." However, it has been my experience that this is not the case. I am a student at the number one up and coming national university, I have a wonderful boyfriend, great job, and loving family. I think I'm pretty well off, if I do say so myself. My tattoos are strategically placed so that they are invisible, should I choose to hide them.
So do I regret my tattoos? Absolutely not. Will I regret them when I'm 80? Absolutely not. Some see it as self-mutilation, I see it as self-beautification.
My tattoos are beautiful.
