The masterpiece in progress
For thousands of years people have been decorating their bodies with tattoos. For centuries, tattoos were embraced by people in the military, but now everyone is embracing the tattoo for self-expression and artistry. I am no exception. I wanted something that would last forever. I will always be a writer, so my choice of tattoo reflected this passion.
When I turned 30 I decided I would join the masses and get my first one. What an adventure it was! My mom said to me, “you can’t get a tattoo under my roof.” What did I do? I moved out and got a quill tattoo which is on my arm.
The first challenge was to find a place who would tattoo me.
My sister and I created a bonding experience because she got one too, but she made me go first! The first shop we tried, which shall remain nameless for the purposes of this blog post, was all for it until I got there and he saw me and said “I can’t tattoo you because if you move it wouldn’t turn out well.”
I found that ironically funny because he was all for it on the phone. We just said “okay, we’ll find another tattoo parlour.” Where there’s a will there’s a way! We drove all the way back to New Westminster and lo and behold, we found a great tattoo shop that would do it!
Next was what I would get. I wanted something that was personal and unique, so I chose a multi-colored quill. I got it done on my forearm where there was lots of fat and not a lot of bone because people told me that it would hurt less. It never hurt at all, but my sister was shocked and surprised that I didn’t cry! The guy who did it told me that we could take breaks but I didn’t need any! I told him to just go ahead and do it.
It took an hour and a half. My experience was so pleasurable, I’m thinking that I want to get another one by the same artist. My next tattoo will be a treble clef and music notes from the song "Perfect" by Pink. It will go on my right arm.
I would tell people to make sure that the tattoo is something that you want because it’s on there for life. Tattoos should be meaningful so don’t just get a random one. Also, I would advise people with disabilities to do their research first because some tattoo parlors will turn you away.
Tell me your tattoo story in the comments!