Let’s just start off by saying I am not the adventurous type. Sure, I’ve done a few cool things in my life, but most included lots of prodding. Getting a tattoo may not seem adventurous to you, but for me… it was huge.

I had been thinking about getting a tattoo to honor my grandfather ever since he passed away. My grandfather was a godly man; listening to people speak about their interactions with him at his celebration of life really sealed the deal for me. He was not without flaws, but none of us are. I began to do some research on where I wanted it. I wanted it in a place where I could see it, but not necessarily where others could see. I finally decided on the inside of my ankle. Grandpa would often sign his cards “lots of love,” so I decided on that for my tattoo.

First step was to figure out where to get this done. I was at home on leave from school, so I researched on the internet and eventually got a recommendation from one of my friends about a place her cousin had gone a few times. I was nervous when I made the call; this was a very permanent thing that would be on my body!

When I arrived to the outside of the shop I was a scared again. I felt slightly creeped out as I walked up the stairs to the shop, but once I got into the waiting area I felt much better. It was clean, and everyone was professional. I told the person at the front what I wanted, and she sized it for me and gave me a price.

Forty-five million Americans have at least one tattoo, and the annual amount of money spent on tattoos is $1.65 billion according to Statistics Brain. My tattoo cost $80. That was the least amount of money they could charge for a tattoo. While that seemed like a lot to me, when I was in the waiting room I heard people dropping $600 on just a part of their tattoo! That made me feel much better about the $80 that I was going to spend. I paid the deposit (which was the full $80) and made my appointment for the next day.

The whole next day I was nervously excited. My friend said she would go with me to get it done as I could only have one person in the room with me. We again climbed the shady steps into the reception area and waited. The second time on the steps was not as bad as the first time, but I still felt apprehensive. As my appointment time came and went, I got even more nervous about my appointment. My tattoo artist was a guest, so his schedule was crammed. The tattoo before me was taking much longer than expected. Finally they were done, but the supplies for my tattoo needed to be set up. Like the receptionist had said, the setup took longer than actually inking my tattoo would. When I finally got in there, I relaxed as the tattoo artist cleaned my ankle and placed the temporary tattoo so he could trace my grandpa’s actual handwriting with the machine. Then it was time! The machine turned on. I was surprised that the sound is more terrifying than the actual pain of the tattoo! He began to trace over the temporary tattoo with the machine. It went so fast that before I knew it, my tattoo was done. I was in love! It looked better than I could have imagined. He finished cleaning up my ankle, wrapped it up and I finished up with the receptionist out front.

Talking to my mom, she said that when she was young, the perception was that soldiers, sailors or gang members were the only people frequenting tattoo parlors. Not anymore! The tattoo movement is huge; there have been multiple TV shows centered on tattoo parlors and their artists. Shows like "LA Ink" with Kat Von D really changed the way I perceived the industry, and it brought fame to her and the studio enough to have spin-offs in different cities. Celebrities have bought into the movement from athletes like David Beckham to amazing performers like Justin Bieber, Hillary Duff, Scarlett Johansson and Angelina Jolie. Olympic athletes get the Olympic rings tattooed on them to remind them of the amazing opportunity that they have earned. Every day people get tattoos not only to express themselves but for makeup as well. There is permanent eyeliner and eyebrows that have been popular. Who knows what will be the next trend?

I walked away from my experience with more positive feelings than negative. Once I saw my tattoo for the first time after I took the wrap off, I was filled with emotion. I did this in remembrance of my grandfather, and every time I look at his handwriting, I smile thinking of him.

Tattoos should bring you joy. I know mine does. After seeing my tattoo for the first time, my roommate said, “are you addicted now?” I think I’ve got the tattoo fever.