my tattoo story
As I lurk around various tattoo communities and talk to peers it seems many people have a lot of questions and concerns about tattoos. So I decided to type out my entire story of my first tattoo. This might be long.
The first time I read the line "the earth laughs in flowers" I knew it defined me in a way I couldn't explain. I have a quote book, full of things I read that speak to me in some way. this line was so special, it couldn't just sit on paper. So I decided it would be my first and what I thought would be my only tattoo. I sat around with the thought for about a year. Every time I mentioned it to my mom she was like "hah, dumb. tattoos suck." And when she said that I'd change my mind and decide I didn't want it.
This summer I decided it was definitely going to happen at some point, I just had to work up the courage. While I was at the beach a decided I was going to do it, but my mom refused to go with me and I didn't want to be alone. So I was still tattoo-less. College started and I got my nose pierced and I was like 'damn! i'm hardcore! i can totally do a tattoo!' So me and a friend planned to go in December when we both would have extra money from working more hours during break. At the same time, I was planning a trip to Boulder, Colorado to visit my best friend for her 18th birthday (I live in Baltimore, btw). When I told her I has bought the plane tickets she told me to plan a tattoo becasue she was def going and she wanted me to get one too. Perfect opportunity! I had about a month to brew of fonts and placement and blah blah. My original idea was the have the words going along the arch of my left foot. As the date got closer and i looked more into tattoos I learned that foot tattoos are very painful and don't always last, especially near the thin skin of the arch. I was once again stumped on placement and started to panic. i called my friend and told her to cancel my appointment, I was going to do it, I was too scared. So seemed a bit upset but I couldn't put something on my I wasn't sure of. I didn't think much of it after that and headed up to Co. to see her. When I got there she told me she never canceled and wanted me to talk to the guys there. I started freaking out all over again.
I printed out some font ideas and we went over to Boulder Ink. They were all so friendly! They asked me why I was nervous, what I wanted out of a tattoo, etc. JoJo went in to the back and drew it out for me and asked me what I thought. I was beautiful on paper, so I decided to go for it. We also decided my shoulder blade would be a nice spot, like the one Magan Fox has. Placement had been a big issue for me because I am studying to be a teacher and visible tattoos are not at all ok. He told me it would be $160, and they only take cash. Our appointment was a few hour later, so they told us to go get some sugar in our bodies so we relax. So we went back to her apartment and had Sprite and pasta. We also had to go to the bank and get cash out. When we got to the bank I almost backed out again. I was freaking out, texting my mom, telling her how scary it is. She said "you will do many scary things in life, don't let it hold you back". I was amazed, because she has always hated the idea. With that, I knew I was going to do it.
When we got to Boulder Ink he took me back in to his room. We figured out exact placement on my shoulder, I didn't want it to be covered by a bra/tank top strap. He cleaned off my shoulder and stuck the tracing on. I was so nervous I was sweating and very pale. He told me to lay down and just breathe. It hurt so so so bad. I just wanted it to end. I was sweating so much I left wet marks. It only took 20 minutes, which was nice because it was so painful. The closer he got to my spine the more it hurt. When He was done all of the black he tried to convince me to color the flower in, but I was very certain I only wanted black and white. I was a bit annoyed wiht him because he started complaining that so many people get text tattoos and black tattoos and he hates that. He wiped it clean and handed me a hand mirror to check it out.
As soon as I saw it I wanted to cry. I was absolutely beautiful. He told me he was going going to charge me $120 instead of $160, so I gave him the $20 tip I was already planning and the other $40 he took off the original price, because his work was amazing.
The healing process was fine. It was sore for about 3 days. It peeled and flaked off after a week. I used aquaphor exactly like they said and had no problem.
I love my tattoo, and I'm planning my second.
Here's mine the day we got it done:
And here it is now:
And for anyone who is curious, here's the one my friend got:
I cost $240 and took about two hours to do. Hers was done by Dave at Boulder Ink.
The first time I read the line "the earth laughs in flowers" I knew it defined me in a way I couldn't explain. I have a quote book, full of things I read that speak to me in some way. this line was so special, it couldn't just sit on paper. So I decided it would be my first and what I thought would be my only tattoo. I sat around with the thought for about a year. Every time I mentioned it to my mom she was like "hah, dumb. tattoos suck." And when she said that I'd change my mind and decide I didn't want it.
This summer I decided it was definitely going to happen at some point, I just had to work up the courage. While I was at the beach a decided I was going to do it, but my mom refused to go with me and I didn't want to be alone. So I was still tattoo-less. College started and I got my nose pierced and I was like 'damn! i'm hardcore! i can totally do a tattoo!' So me and a friend planned to go in December when we both would have extra money from working more hours during break. At the same time, I was planning a trip to Boulder, Colorado to visit my best friend for her 18th birthday (I live in Baltimore, btw). When I told her I has bought the plane tickets she told me to plan a tattoo becasue she was def going and she wanted me to get one too. Perfect opportunity! I had about a month to brew of fonts and placement and blah blah. My original idea was the have the words going along the arch of my left foot. As the date got closer and i looked more into tattoos I learned that foot tattoos are very painful and don't always last, especially near the thin skin of the arch. I was once again stumped on placement and started to panic. i called my friend and told her to cancel my appointment, I was going to do it, I was too scared. So seemed a bit upset but I couldn't put something on my I wasn't sure of. I didn't think much of it after that and headed up to Co. to see her. When I got there she told me she never canceled and wanted me to talk to the guys there. I started freaking out all over again.
I printed out some font ideas and we went over to Boulder Ink. They were all so friendly! They asked me why I was nervous, what I wanted out of a tattoo, etc. JoJo went in to the back and drew it out for me and asked me what I thought. I was beautiful on paper, so I decided to go for it. We also decided my shoulder blade would be a nice spot, like the one Magan Fox has. Placement had been a big issue for me because I am studying to be a teacher and visible tattoos are not at all ok. He told me it would be $160, and they only take cash. Our appointment was a few hour later, so they told us to go get some sugar in our bodies so we relax. So we went back to her apartment and had Sprite and pasta. We also had to go to the bank and get cash out. When we got to the bank I almost backed out again. I was freaking out, texting my mom, telling her how scary it is. She said "you will do many scary things in life, don't let it hold you back". I was amazed, because she has always hated the idea. With that, I knew I was going to do it.
When we got to Boulder Ink he took me back in to his room. We figured out exact placement on my shoulder, I didn't want it to be covered by a bra/tank top strap. He cleaned off my shoulder and stuck the tracing on. I was so nervous I was sweating and very pale. He told me to lay down and just breathe. It hurt so so so bad. I just wanted it to end. I was sweating so much I left wet marks. It only took 20 minutes, which was nice because it was so painful. The closer he got to my spine the more it hurt. When He was done all of the black he tried to convince me to color the flower in, but I was very certain I only wanted black and white. I was a bit annoyed wiht him because he started complaining that so many people get text tattoos and black tattoos and he hates that. He wiped it clean and handed me a hand mirror to check it out.
As soon as I saw it I wanted to cry. I was absolutely beautiful. He told me he was going going to charge me $120 instead of $160, so I gave him the $20 tip I was already planning and the other $40 he took off the original price, because his work was amazing.
The healing process was fine. It was sore for about 3 days. It peeled and flaked off after a week. I used aquaphor exactly like they said and had no problem.
I love my tattoo, and I'm planning my second.
Here's mine the day we got it done:
And here it is now:
And for anyone who is curious, here's the one my friend got:
I cost $240 and took about two hours to do. Hers was done by Dave at Boulder Ink.