Something that surprises many people about me is that I have tattoos. I couldn't tell you why it shocks people, as I've wanted tattoos for years, but even some close friends of mine have been surprised by it.
I have loved the look of small, dainty tattoos since I was a teenager and always knew that I was going to get one, but it was never a priority and eventually I found myself at 24 years old and still without a tattoo. This was partly due to my indecision on the design and location, and partly due to my favourite tattoo artist being located in Spain and booked up for months in advance. In fact, the road trip across Andalucía was supposed to end in Murcia with me getting a tattoo, but this got cut short. I had also come close to getting matching tattoos with my uni flatmates and we'd even emailed a couple of studios asking for quotes and availability, but this had fallen through. I decided that I needed to just book it as that would force me to figure out what I wanted and it was getting to the point where I wouldn't get one otherwise. Luckily, one of my best friend's had gotten her first tattoo a few months beforehand and wanted to get another from the same artist, and as I'd gone with her for her first and loved the artist's designs, I was keen for him to be my artist too.
My friend messaged the artist and we made a reservation for after work. Unfortunately, we didn't realise that the artist worked in two studios across London and that he was in fact working in the studio in North London (we were based in South London) that evening. This meant that instead of going to Inkhouse in Tulse Hill, we had to make it to BLAEC in Tufnell Park. We rushed over from work (arriving late) only to be told that it was cash only, so we had to go to a cash machine nearby. Luckily, the artist and his colleagues were super relaxed about it and he was very helpful with the designs.
For about 3 years I wanted a small outline of a triangle as it represented various things to me, but one day I randomly decided that I didn't like the design anymore. I was scared that this would happen with my other designs, but there was one in particular that I was set on and another that I thought would be cute. After finding out that the minimum spend was £100, I decided to get both as they were very small. The first was a Celtic symbol representing travel, which is fairly self explanatory but also represents my Portuguese heritage and identity (as the Celts settled in parts of the country). The second was a smiley face, which was initially supposed to be a little joke between my friend and I on the bottom of our big toes, but the artist recommended changing the location so it wouldn't rub off as easily, meaning we had to think on our feet.
After the tattoo artist, Floy, designed the tattoos with us, I went to get mine done first. He started with the smiley face, which took all of 30 seconds and ended with him welcoming me to the 'club'. He then did the second tattoo, which was on my ribs and was a similar pain level (like a scratch but deeper) and also quick. It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't bad either. The tattoo artist was extremely professional and made me feel comfortable the whole time - I would highly recommend him. The aftercare was extremely easy too; I was told to moisturise, clean with water three times a day for a week and then dry with a kitchen towel, and to avoid wearing a bra the next day. Due to the small size of the tattoos, I was able to run the next day and they were very low-maintenance. I'd gotten a cartilage piercing exactly three weeks prior to the tattoos and the piercing required much more care.
Surprisingly, the tattoo that I'd spent months mulling over I ended up feeling indifferent towards, and the one I'd come up with on the spot I ended up adoring. I am absolutely enamoured with the smiley face tattoo as not only does it remind me of one of my best friends, and the epitome of our personalities as we chose it (I knew what I wanted so worked with the artist to create the image I had in my mind, and she just went with whatever I'd decided, both location- and design-wise), but it has additional meaning to me (which I haven't shared with any, nor plan to, for the same reason that Twenty One Pilots refuse to share the meaning behind their logo).
I definitely don't think that all tattoos need meaning, nor that you have to love them forever, as each tattoo shows what was important to you at different stages of life, and I'd definitely like more of them, however I like them to be hidden and well-placed so my next one will perhaps be in a year or two from now.
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