Where to start. Well, even as a child, I always wanted to be tattooed. To keep a long story short, I fought my parents (even being 18) and won. My 18th birthday brought a pretty little shamrock to the back of my neck. That satisfied me for a couple months. Then I started to get the oh-so-famous "itch".
At A Glance Author danielle Contact danielle@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Jenna Studio Sundevil Tattoo Location Long Island, New York I toyed with the idea of getting stars tattooed somewhere on my body, and then for a couple weeks felt pretty confident with the idea of getting a HUGE tattoo, one that included about 15-20 stars, varying in shape, size, and color, starting under my left arm and ending at my right hip. I loved the idea, and still do. What steered me away was 1- if I got that tattoo, any other tattoos in the side/stomach/hip area were impossible, and 2- it's so not me. I love the idea very much, and would probably be jealous if someone I knew got it, but its still just too much. So I was still suffering from the itch..
Everytime I see people around with tattoos I feel compelled to ask about them and get this overwhelming feeling that can best be described by jealousy. Jealous in that I'm not content in my one tattoo to stop tattooing. I loved the tattoo I already have, but it wasn't enough anymore. I wanted something more visible. Something that people could easily see and that I could show off.
First, I thought that a tattoo on my hand was a good idea. I liked the wrist tattoo, but thought it was a little too common. I was looking for something a little more unique. I then considered getting a small black star on the top of my hand, between my index and thumb. I never really fell in love with the idea, so i decided against that as well. Then I saw someone with an anklet tattoo. I really liked that idea but still felt that it was too easily covered. I rarely wear shorts, and even more rarely wear sandals, so it would never be seen. I've also heard horror stories about how painful the tattooing process is.
I went back and forth for a couple months between a hand tattoo or an anklet when it dawned on me: why not get a wrist band? It seemed so obvious and so simple, yet it took me nearly 3 months to finally think of it. I instantly knew that that was what i wanted. I did some research and came across a couple tattoo's that i wanted to sort of blend together into one. i loved the idea of something celtic (being irish and all), but celtic wristbands/anklets always seemed kind of boring. Tribals were nice, but too common. Hopefully I could create my own..
I went with my friend, because my parents made it very clear that they did not support what I was doing. I brought the pictures i had with me, and showed Jenna, the woman who did my first tattoo, and she drew up a sketch that was exactly what I was looking for. I was expecting pain, but nothing too bad. I figured the back of my neck was probably a more painful place to be tattooed. Boy, was i wrong. This one hurt so much more. It felt like my hand was shattering everytime she came close to that little bone that pokes out on your wrist. Though it was a lot more painful than my previous tattoo, it was still very tolerable.
She finished up, the whole process taking about 45 minutes to an hour. I paid, tipped her, and eventually left. We ended up sticking around for a while. A man had come in around the same time as me, getting a tattoo colored in. We became friendly and talked while we were being tattooed. He asked us to stick around to talk to him to keep his mind off the pain.
After we finally left, I was exhausted. I went home, went to sleep, and woke up the next morning kind of forgetting that I had actually gotten a tattoo the day before! I looked at my wrist and was pleasently surprised at how well the tattoo already looked. I love my tribal/celtic/flowery/viney design very very much and am so glad i finally went through with it!
My advice is: research research research! Nothing could be worse then getting a tattoo that you grow to hate! Luckily, being my indecisive self, it took me forever to decide on my tattoo. better safe than sorry! My second piece of advice is this: After you know what you want, don't let anyone talk you out of it. In the end it's your body. Do to it what you like. Don't let anyone (especially parents) persuade you to get or not get something you think you will truly enjoy.