My mom always told me that she would pay for my first tattoo -- when I was 35.
At the time it seemed awesome because hey, I could get any tattoo I wanted and my mom would pay for it. But I wanted to start way earlier than 35, so I was on my own financially.
I was searching Pinterest one day and I found myself looking at tattoos for hours. I knew that I wanted one, but I wasn't sure what I wanted.
Most importantly, I wanted my first one to mean something. I saw so many cool ones that I would love to have, but I also had to factor in the budget I had.
When I finally decided on a tattoo that made both my heart and wallet happy, I made my appointment for the fall break of 2015.
It's on my left forearm and it says, never forget who you are.
No, I do not need a tattoo to remember who I am. I have heard that countless times.
The font is from "The Lion King" when Rafiki writes the saying on the wall. The quote isn't exactly the same, but it's unique in that sense and it spoke to me more.
I'm not going to go in depth with more of the meaning behind this tattoo -- that is a story for another time.
My first tattoo experience was the worst and the best, at least for me. I was so nervous for it because I heard from a few people that getting any tattoo would hurt a lot. So I prepared for the worst.
I got there, and honestly, it really didn't hurt. It was more of an uncomfortable feeling than anything else.
However, I passed out while getting it because I was so nervous and all my anxiety built up. Combine my anxiety with all the adrenaline built up and it just hit me all at once.
My second tattoo was much more recent, on Saturday, July 23, 2016.
I knew what I wanted and had been dreaming it up for quite some time, but I didn't have it in me to go for a consult alone.
Then I got my friend Dani to come with me since we were both in the same situation. We went and set up our appointments on the same day, with the same artist named Lauren and put down our deposits.
As soon as we left, we started counting down the days.
Finally, the day had come and Dani's was first. I went to watch some of hers just to see how she was handling the session. Since we both were getting large tattoos on our forearms, I figured that watching her and acclimating to the environment a bit may help me out.
I did not want to pass out again.
Before I knew it, I was up and I was so excited! Lauren put the stencil on and of course I had my mom with me for support.
I sat down in the chair and she started with the smallest part of the tattoo, which was the little dots. I came to learn that if I don't watch her do the tattoo, I could handle it easily.
That's why I said that the first tattoo is the worst and the best. I learned what you should and should not do so you don't pass out.
Getting tattooed is not my favorite feeling in the world, and I made a few faces throughout the session, but its wasn't awful. I enjoyed chatting with the artist and the time seemed to fly by.
I fell in love with it as soon as it was done. I wanted both of my tattoos to be in places I could see them, which is why I chose for each one to be on my forearms.
My advice for anyone getting a tattoo is to take a little while before you get it and make sure it's what you really want. Make sure you have the money saved up and know where you want it.
After all, your body is a canvas -- decorate it the way you want. Even if those decorations are a little painful to add, they'll be worth it!
