To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo?*

Love them, hate them, whatever your thoughts are on the subject, they're out there.

Tattoos.

There are a range of reasons behind why someone will decide to get a tattoo. Creative expression, spur of the moment, drunk decisions, reflection of values, wanting to rebel, personal reminders.

Personally I like clever tattoos, ones that are thought through, unique & have a good story behind them. Patterns, bum-toppings, starsigns, roses or butterflies don't sit well with me.**

I do know butterflies represent change & growth, I love that meaning behind them, but they are so common these days they've lost their effect.

Star signs are personal but they're personal to 1/12 of the world as well. Having said that, some are really well done & not as simple as the zodiac sign, in those cases, they can be pretty cool - because they've had a lot of effort put into them.

Tattoos always bring Questions :

"What about when you get old?"

"What happens if you don't like it later on?"

"Will your work let you have it?"

It's good as long as you have Answers :

- This needs to be thought about. It's often why people (girls in particular) put their tattoo in obscure places, it's easily hidden as life goes on. On the other hand though, they're a reminder of your/our youth. Stories to tell our children & our grandchildren, to let them know we have been there, done that, gotten the tattoo.

- If you think your mind might change, don't get it. It's really quite simple. Obviously if someone's decided to get the tattoo, they don't think their mind will change. This is the same with partners names, friend tattoos (yes, Em, I do understand), things change, you need to think of all possible outcomes before you permanently mark your body.

- In reality, tattoo's don't affect your work, they just don't. The other reality is that some companies with face-to-face customer service roles may not want that "image" portrayed. That's a fact you have to keep in mind & you can't complain if they don't like it. But, they are easily hidden at interviews.


We all know I have one. It's on my shoulder & can make for difficult dressing when it's hot & I want to wear sleeveless shirts to work. I still like it though. It's very personal, I'm yet to see someone with anything remotely similar. It's a great conversation starter, even if the conversation isn't great. I'm now looking at getting my second one, probably for my birthday. I've already drawn it up, it's just a case of looking at it everyday for a few months to make sure I'm happy with it.

Over to you now. Do you have one? Why did you get it? Do you still like it? or...Do you dislike them altogether & would never do anything like that?

*Stole the title idea from this post.

**If you have any of these, don't take offense - if you do, it means you care too much about what someone else thinks.

Pictures thanks to Google, Flickr & Just Tattoos.