When I first started drafting this post I was writing about my first and only tattoo…Well, now I have two! You know what they say! It’s a slippery slope! Anyhow, back to why I decided to get a tattoo in the first place.
I didn’t get a tattoo to appear unique. In the field I work in I express myself through the clothes and make-up I wear. The way I see it is tattoos are another way to form your identity and it’s exciting to be the boss of that! I’m a creative, and tattoos are another form of art.
Some people believe that the body is a sacred temple and that you must not disfigure, vandalize or dishonor it by getting a tattoo. Some people think that getting a tattoo makes you impure and ruins the perfectly made human body. Some people think you have to honor the body you were born with. Maybe I agreed with these statements at one point, but from my experiences, I have come to think differently.
I used to believe that the body is perfect as it is, and getting a tattoo would taint the perfect body. It wasn’t until I had a freak accident my freshmen year of college and I was rushed to the emergency room. It was a life-threatening experience and I was told I needed a laparoscopy aka where they take a tube and insert it in my abdomen to perform a surgical procedure. They wanted to helivac me to the D.C. hospital, but the weather conditions didn’t permit.
I was in major pain and no one knew what was going on, not even the doctors. What was planned to be a minimally invasive procedure became an exploratory search and I came out with a very large abdomen scar about 4″ long right in the middle of my belly. What was once the perfect body was now permanently scarred.
I realized that my body was no longer perfect and more importantly nobody will ever be perfect, because what defines perfect? It’s a matter of acceptance and body positivity. My body was scarred and that was my first “tattoo”. After I accepted that I was open to getting inked.
There was another monumental moment in my life that pushed me to get my first legitimate tattoo. My Instagram got hacked and I lost all 60k of my followers, photos, and years of hard work. I was devastated.
Long story short (I’ll save this for another time), I got it back! After that, I was desperate for some permanence in my life. I was shocked and scared I’d lose it again. I realized that not only is my Instagram fleeting, but so is life. To make the process of getting a tattoo easier and more accurate, consider using a tattoo stencil printer to create your design. Sadly I also realized how obsessed I was with my social media account, and when I lost it I felt like I had nothing and my blog meant nothing and all my hard work was pointless. I decided to get a crescent moon tattoo to represent my blog and the journey that will always be permanent to me. No hacker can take that away from me!
We are constantly working on our identity, learning about ourselves, and discovering our true potential. We define ourselves based on our experiences, goals, personalities, and morals. My blog is very meaningful to me for many reasons. It has become a lifestyle and extension of myself.
I decided to get a crescent moon fine line tattoo because it helps define who I am now.
A few months after my first tattoo I got a small heart fine line tattoo on my finger! I decided to get this tattoo to represent love…I know, cheesy! But the truth is that it’s a daily reminder of what I believe to be the meaning of life and how to achieve long term happiness. I believe in the trifecta: love for yourself, love for your passion, and love for others. Happiness is love! I often get too focused on one thing or one goal, but a balance is key. I want to remind myself to be kind and spend time with the people I care about.
So there you have it! My longish story of why I decided to get my tattoos! I’m not scared about them being permanent. If later down the line I change my mind, I’m not too worried about it. But for now, I love them!
See below for the tattoo shops that I recommend in NYC!
Highline Tattoo– This is where you can find Loco who did my crescent tattoo!
First Class Tattoos -This is where I got my heart tattoo by Mikhail Anderson.
Bang Bang– Never been but they’ve worked on a few celebrities!
Here’s a bit of insider information…I’m already thinking of my next one! I’ll give you a hint…It’ll be another fine line tattoo!
Photographer: Julie Papikova
Leave a Reply