One of my guilty pleasure shows is Ink Master. My best friend and I can talk about it for hours. She loves Cleen Rock One, and Sarah Miller is one of my favorites. What's ironic though, is as much as we love the show, we don't have any tattoos, nor do we plan on getting any. I can appreciate a beautiful tattoo, I just can't imagine myself with one. This philosophy might seem paradoxical, but let me explain.

A few years ago I wanted a tattoo badly, but I decided to wait and think about this big decision for a while. I decided not to get one, and honestly I'm relieved I didn't get it. I had a beautiful tattoo in mind, but I was afraid I would get tired of seeing the same thing on the same part of my body every day, which would be a shame. You can call me afraid of commitment, but with something as permanent as a tattoo, it doesn't hurt to be cautious.

I’m one to appreciate beauty and art, so when I look at tattoos on Ink Master and on people I know, I see them as works of art (unless it was voted the worst tattoo of the day.) I try to visualize a work of art on my own skin but, somehow I can’t. I try to think of something meaningful or worthy enough to be in my flesh forever, but the ideas that I think of don’t cut it. I like to decorate my body with jewelry or makeup or things that I can remove when I decide I don’t want it on my body anymore. I understand that if an image is truly meaningful to you, then you won’t hesitate getting it tattooed and you won’t grow tired of wearing it permanently. Maybe I haven’t found the right tattoo yet, but maybe I never will, and that’s okay.

Maybe someday I’ll be brave enough to go under the needle, but for now I’m happy with my body the way it is: pale flesh speckled with birthmarks and a scar on one finger. This body is the only one I’ll ever have, so I’m very careful about what I do with it.