Why mark yourself?

i think tattoos are fine but i agree with you in I think they should have a purpose. Like my sister is going to be traveling into other countries, and her and her future hubby are going to get wedding bands tattood on as well as having the rings, because its not safe to wear nice jewelry in certain countries.

I am not certain as to the reason why people choose to get tattoos, but I did a really interesting unit in cultural anthropology on why people from some cultures mark their bodies...check it out sometime!
Bekka Joy

Often times it is about acceptance, some cultures around the world consider it to be a mark of adulthood. I haven't quite decided if I want to get one. My boyfriend has one of his family crest (he's Irish) on his upper arm, and is planning to get another one on his other arm in remembrance of his brother who took his own life. I think they're very interesting and often a way to set yourself apart, and at the same time be a part of a community of other people who have tattoos. It's kind of dumb to just go in and pick one off the wall or the books, but I'm in not in any position to judge.

`lacey

There are no beautiful surfaces without terrible depth...

Although I like to go in to the tattoo shops to get ideas, I still put a lot of thought into what I want. I don't have any tattoos yet, but that's because I'm still deciding on exactly what I want.

To go and just pick one out doesn't make any sense for something that's so permanent.

-- quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

honestly, i can't stand it when someone just gets a pre-designed tattoo ("flash" as it's known in the business)...for one, something so impersonal seems to lack meaning, and considering that it's something that's pretty much with you for the rest of your life (tattoo removal is possible, but pretty painful and damn expensive), it seems kind of...stupid to get that. plus the fact that somewhere out there someone could be walking around with the same tattoo kind of creeps me out.

my tattoo wasn't even done in a shop, it was a stick-and-poke (it's done by hand, not using a machine but just an inked needle, and consists of lots and lots and lots of little dots that make up the design), and it's of a hammer and sickle that i decided to get kind of on a whim....however, i was born in soviet russia (back when it was still soviet) so the symbol--even though i'm not a communist--means a lot to me because it represents my heritage, and i never want to let go of where i came from. i've had it for about three months now and i still love it. =)

--stacie

I actually wanted a tattoo as well, i wanted one on my wrist, an outline of a star, but i have decided not to get one. My mom told me no but also, when i thought about it, i don't want one because I want to, but because other people have it. Conformity, is probably the number one reason people get tattoos, well that's what i think.

Also, i don't want to be that grandma with the black star on her wrist, at age 60. Tattoos are PERMANENT people. They're not going to ever go away, even if you have surgery, you'll most likely still have a scar.
I think if you really can live with that tattoo go ahead, but think about the future. Who wants to see the grandma bending over and then seeing a big tattoo on her lower back. gross. haha.

You are PERMINATLY marking your body...people just don't seem to understand that part. That tattoo which may look so "great" on your young body now, BUT think about when you hit in your 50's+ and you start to wrinkle. You're so called "lovely tattoo" will be not be so smooth anymore. An do you honestly think the things you mark your body up with now you'll like it 20yrs from now...probably not.

<3 Bridget "Jingles" <3
"Love is like a war. It's easy to start, hard to stop, and impossible to forget."

I plan on getting a lotus blossom on my right foot with the karma mantra written around it. It explains that good people do good things to reflect upon themselves, and bad people will do bad things. It sounds simple, but it's a very complex idea. The lotus blossom symbolizes the journey towards 'enlightenment' which to me means a reminder that I shouldn't be materialistic and that I should attempt to do good as much as possible. It'll be on my foot because a) I can hide it in professional situations, and b) buddhist tradition. I'm not buddhist, but I enjoy buddhism as a philosophy.

I feel that tattoos are a lot like cigarettes for some people. They know in the end they'll regret doing what they're doing, but they feel pressured to look or act a certain way, in my case as well as many others I'm sure, the tattoo will be there as a reminder to me. Either way, I don't think it's fair for people to judge someone because they have a tattoo or not, it's their own personal choice and it's their body, so why are you worrying about it? Now if only I had enough money for said tattoo..,

On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur: L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

i know there are some certain tattoos that fade away within a couple months. Well that's what i was told, i don't necesarily think it's true. but you may want to ask before you get one.

I'm inked on more than half of my body, and I love my body art. But, I made a very deliberate decision before going under the needle the very first time. Tattoos are for all practical purposes, permanent, my advice to anyone who is thinking about getting a tattoo is to be very sure about what they want, and what it means to have a tattoo before taking the plunge. My personal process involves getting the artwork I want done first, as a sketch on a piece of paper. Then, I put it a drawer for a year. It at the end of that year, I still like the art and want it on my body, then I go to my artist and have him put it on.

percivale

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"Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici." ~ V.

I have five tattoos and a couple more to come. All of them planned, all of them very dear to me. I do not go to parlors and get random tattoos that others can get. I also dont' understand when ppl go to parlors and pick from a book. It doesnt' come from their heart.

JM

I want a tattoo because I want one. Society frowns upon tattoos, it's really not conformity. Now having earrings is conformity, everyone seems to have one, but I'm not getting a tattoo to conform or beat the man. I'm getting a tattoo because I like them and have wanted one since I was little, no joke, lol.. I have no qualms about having something on my body for the rest of my life.

Society is to uptight.

Tattoos should really mean something. I know someone who got one that's half AIDs ribbon, half breast cancer ribbon, because she is very close to people who have both. Some people get their kid's names, which is a lot safer than a boyfriend's or girlfriend's because they'll be a part of your life forever. My mom, who got a gastric bypass a few years ago, will, once she gets down to her goal weight (about 160) and gets the excess skin removed, will get a tattoo of a teddy bear holding a heart with the number 529 in it. The bear is because she loves bears, and 529 is what she used to weigh.

the shape of Africa, with a heart in Cameroon. Its very meaningful for me, because I spent over a month there, and it completely changed my life. During the trip, I made friends I'll never forget, met the love of my life, chose my career path, made really important spiritual decisions, and so much more. Its so much a part of me, I want it to be permanently a physical part of me as well. I like knowing I'll have a constant reminder of that country, those people, and the reasons I am who I am.

~Reveolution and Restoration, in the Name of Christ our Lord
Lizz