From a very young age I was taught that tattoos were bad; so, growing up, the energy around tattoos was always negative. When, at the age of 14, I began attending church alone and the topic of tattoos came across, the same view of tattoos was shared. I thought the view would be somewhat different since there are always differences between the various Christian denominations. The bible verse that supports this view is Leviticus 19:28, which states, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the LORD.” If you’d asked me three years ago if I would consider getting a tattoo, I would have said, ‘No. Of course not.” Though, now my views on tattoos have changed. Ultimately, I began to view tattoos more so as messages rather than sinful markings.
So, yes, now, at this moment in my life, I would consider getting a tattoo. Though, with this on my mind, other questions arise. What do you want to get tattooed on your body and where?
Where Shall It Reside?
From all of the stories about tattoo and piercing discrimination in the workplace, this question haunted me. I know that I want people to see my tattoo, because I see them as messages. Initially, I wanted to get one on my forearm, but it was instilled in me that I wouldn’t be able to find a job with a tattoo in a visible spot. So, I thought of getting the tattoo on my ankle. If I got a tattoo on my ankle I could easily cover it up at work and flaunt it outside of work. Now, I’ve come to the conclusion that I want the tattoo on my wrist. Left or right, I have no clue.
What Shall It Be?
I’ve thought long and hard about what I want to get a tattoo of and I’ve come up nothing. Yep, there is no ‘Top 3’ or even ‘Top 10’. So, a couple of months ago I walked into a tattoo parlor and started flipping through the tattoo book, looking for ideas. I thought of my passions, music and writing. While flipping through, I saw a few pages with music-related tattoos. Though, none really piqued my interest. So, I thought of getting my zodiac sign; and, of course there were lots of pages of the zodiac signs. Though, again, nothing really stood out to me. Now, I scrounge the internet looking for something worthy enough to put on my body.
In the back of my mind there is always this constant fear that I will regret getting a tattoo. This fear is most likely stemming from my Baptist church teachings as a child or my Pentecostal teachings as an adolescent. Or is it the many stories I heard about people regretting the tattoos they always wanted? Maybe it’s a combination of both.
With this in mind, I’ve made a pact with myself to get my tattoo on my birthday, this year. So, that means I have three months to figure out what I want to get and which wrist.