Wowza, this post has been a long time coming. I thought I'd make one about my thoughts (as well as other people's) on tattoos. I'll also include some pictures and an explanation behind my first tattoo at the end.
I love tattoos - usually minimalistic and small ones. I even decided to get one of my own in 2015. I received a fair amount of odd reactions and negative comments about tattoos that I would like to discuss, and I know I'm not the only one.
1. "You're going to regret that when you're older"
You really don't know the first thing about the reasoning behind my decision to get a tattoo. It will be on my body forever - and I am very much aware of that. I am not going to get a tattoo that I will regret later on. My tattoo has a lot of meaning to me personally, a ton of thought went into it, and I will never regret that. Obviously, I want it to be permanent for a reason.
2. "That's going to look ugly when you're old" or "Will you still like it even when it's all wrinkly?"
The purpose of my tattoo is not and never will be to please other people. You don't have to look at it. I got it for myself, and of course I will still like it when I get older and I don't care what it's going to look like. As long as the tattoo lasts, so will the meaning behind it. I'll be looking at my wrinkly old ink when I'm 90, still loving it and remembering why I chose to get it. The meaning itself will make it beautiful to me for as long as I live.
3. "Tattoos are gross"
I'd love to hear a real justification for this statement because it just doesn't make any sense.
4. "You'll get an infection"
How many people do you know or have you heard of that have actually received an infection from getting a tattoo? This is actually a pretty rare thing because most authentic, licensed shops are required to open brand new supplies for each and every customer. The only way you're going to get an infection is if the tattooist uses dirty or previously-used supplies, or you care for your tattoo incorrectly while it's trying to heal. When I got mine, the artist showed me that he was opening brand new packages for the needle and ink.
5. "Tattoos are a sin" or "Tattoos are rebellious"
The most common argument a lot of people like to use to say tattoos are a sin is this bible verse found in Leviticus:
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord
Leviticus 19: 28, KJV
I can see where there could maybe be some sort of conflict with your beliefs, until further reading. When people try to use this, they are completely taking the verse out of context (not an uncommon practice). God was telling the Israelites, specifically, not to participate in the pagan rituals that were taking place at the time. The rest of the chapter tells the Israelites not to eat meat and not to cut their hair or beards. It was in a time when they didn't have all the modern things we have now, so God was instructing them on how they needed to live. If you're going to use this single verse to try to tell anyone not to get tattoos, I hope that you're a vegetarian and that your hair falls all the way to your ankles.
If you feel that getting a tattoo is somehow morally or religiously wrong, then don't get one. But don't try to tell someone else that tattoos are "bad" or "sinful" when that is simply not the case.
The Volkswagen Beetle was developed by Nazis, so does that mean it's a bad car and that no one should drive it? No.
As for the "rebellious" part, I personally did not get my tattoo to be rebellious or just because it's "cool." Maybe some people do, but most don't. Of course my family didn't necessarily fully support my decision at first, but I didn't want a tattoo just to go against what they thought. To me, tattoos are an art form - a way of expressing yourself - and the meaning they hold is unique to each person. I didn't get one to "be cool" or "because other people were/are doing it".
If you feel that getting a tattoo is somehow morally or religiously wrong, then don't get one. But don't try to tell someone else that tattoos are "bad" or "sinful" when that is simply not the case.
The Volkswagen Beetle was developed by Nazis, so does that mean it's a bad car and that no one should drive it? No.
As for the "rebellious" part, I personally did not get my tattoo to be rebellious or just because it's "cool." Maybe some people do, but most don't. Of course my family didn't necessarily fully support my decision at first, but I didn't want a tattoo just to go against what they thought. To me, tattoos are an art form - a way of expressing yourself - and the meaning they hold is unique to each person. I didn't get one to "be cool" or "because other people were/are doing it".
I got my first (and only, so far) tattoo on December 11, 2015. Long before this, I had talked to my cousin about wanting to get some tattoos in the future. She seemed hesitant at first but then a couple of weeks later, she messaged me and suggested that we should get matching tattoos.
My cousin and I decided to get matching crosses on our wrists to symbolize our faith and life-friendship. We went with a simple, black design and chose a placement where we'll always be able to see it and be reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made for us.
Before we got them, the tattooist tried to convince us to turn the cross around because when we hold out our hand, it'll look like an upside-down cross to other people. I thought that was funny because again, we weren't getting the tattoo for other people to see it a certain way, but for ourselves. And while a lot of people also think that an upside-down cross is Satanic, it's traditionally not, so it doesn't matter anyway.
Cost: $40 (that was the shop minimum)
Pain: 3-4/10, more like a continuous cat scratch--annoying, but not tear-inducing
Do I plan on getting any more tattoos in the future? Heck yes.
Before we got them, the tattooist tried to convince us to turn the cross around because when we hold out our hand, it'll look like an upside-down cross to other people. I thought that was funny because again, we weren't getting the tattoo for other people to see it a certain way, but for ourselves. And while a lot of people also think that an upside-down cross is Satanic, it's traditionally not, so it doesn't matter anyway.
Cost: $40 (that was the shop minimum)
Pain: 3-4/10, more like a continuous cat scratch--annoying, but not tear-inducing
Do I plan on getting any more tattoos in the future? Heck yes.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think about this post or tattoos in general!
Thanks for reading!
~Say Love <3
Thanks for reading!
~Say Love <3