When I moved to New Jersey after graduating high school, I experienced quite a culture shock. Growing up in the Washington D.C. area, I am used to people dressing more conservatively. One of the first things I noticed after I moved was the massive amount of people walking around with tattoos. Of course I’ve seen tattoos before. I’ve seen them on random men in the grocery store, or when I would occasionally see a group of bikers at a restaurant. My ninth grade English teacher even showed us the little inked feather on her ankle. That was the extent of my tattoo knowledge until the age of 18.

I admit that not only was I naïve about the topic, but I was very much against tattoos. I thought, “Why do you need to have something printed on your body your whole life? And what would employers think?” I never would’ve believed that I would have one in just three years.

After my immediate shock I started talking to people with tattoos. I asked them about their stories and what they meant to them. Of course some of them got their tattoos when they were young and already regret it, but I was surprised at how many of them weren’t impulsive, drunken decisions or just incredibly tacky. I realized that many of them were dedicated to a person or aspect of their life that they wanted to keep with them forever.

I then started thinking about getting one of my own. I chose a lotus flower behind my ear, which is the national flower of Vietnam. Being adopted from there, I wanted my first and most likely only tattoo to symbolize my roots. After going through my own process of getting a tattoo, there’s a few pieces of advice I would give anyone who’s planning to get one.

The most important thing is to get something that is meaningful to you, or that at least symbolizes something. A random heart or stars may look nice, but it’s much more likely you’ll get tired of them more quickly. Generally, you should think about what you want for at least a couple months before you should make the appointment. It’s also a good idea to get a henna tattoo of what you want, so you can test it out. Second, the placement of the tattoo is very important as well. You should keep in mind how often you want to see it and how often you want others to see it as well. It’s also better to have it in a place that can be covered up for job interviews or work. Lastly, research good places to get it done and look at the artist’s past work. Some places can be really cheap, which is great for your wallet, but not that great for your sloppily done tattoo.

Having a tattoo is not only meaningful, but is fun and shows what type of person you’re like. I love being an insider in the tattoo community now and I’ve already had conversations with many interested strangers about it. I can’t wait to be that random lady in the grocery store with the cool tattoo.