No regrets
No Regrets – The meaning behind tattoos
It’s hard to find anyone nowadays without tattoos. Actually I know quite a lot of people who do not have any tattoos, but whenever I look at the people in the streets on a hit day, you’ll be surprised. Cashiers, people in the medical field, musicians (that’s close to a “duh”), neighbors across the street, friends, they all walk around with a tattoo of some sort.
Some people are very outspoken. Others hide their tattoos. It all depends on what’s accepted in the direct environment and what isn’t. Personally, I started out with piercings in my eyebrow and lower lip, before I did a tattoo. It was interesting to see how management and suppliers would react to my piercing, but other than being teased a little, no one said I had to take it out.
My first tattoo was on the inside of my right wrist. The second one followed quickly after on my left wrist and recently I had the third one done, which is beneath my collar bone under my shirt. The first one was planned somewhat hidden. It was just natural to have the other one at the same location on the other side. The third one would have been more visible if it hadn’t been so sunny outside – in the States.
A little fact. You’re not supposed to expose any new tattoos to sunlight. Most people like to place tattoos during the Summer, but actually that’s the worst time, since we’re usually covered in far less clothes, compared to Winter time.
Tattoos shouldn’t just be taken on the spot. I will admit that I did go for my tattoos pretty quickly after some things happened in my life, I had a hard time dealing with, but those are just a couple of stars. When it comes to bigger ones, like animals for instance, you might want to see the portfolio of the artist first.
When you like at the style of each artist, you can see that some tattoo primarily in black and white. For those who have watched Miami Ink and L.A. Ink, know that Kat von D. primarily tattooed in black and white at first. She is a master when it comes to portraits. Getting a lifelike picture of someone on your skin is pretty difficult. It’s already difficult doing so on paper, let alone on a non-flat surface like skin. Also getting it to look alive, next to resembling is a challenge by itself. If a tattoo artist are specialized in one specific area and it’s not faces, you might want to reconsider going to that one person.
Freehand drawing is also a skill. The advantage of it, is that the tattoo can be matched to your curves, muscles and bone structure. And of course the drawing can be fully adjusted to your liking. It’s actually not that common that tattoo artists draw you a design. There are plenty out there who use a prefabricated picture, or want you to draw/design one yourself. This is mainly the reason I do not have bigger ones yet. I want an artist specialized in Japanese, animals and preferably being able to hand draw it on my body.
Then there is the usage of line work and again color. I’m not talking about black and white here, but about the depth of the color and the thickness of the lines, making it look really black or not. The stars have got the same outlining. It’s the inside which is very different. I like shading and I like the use of the white color, 
although some say it will turn yellow eventually. When I was getting my latest one(s), I didn’t think about color, until she asked. Come to think of it, I decided for dark blue (I love cobalt, also described as royal blue), one which was a mixture of black with grey, by adding shading and one which looks like grey, but actually isn’t.
The meaning behind tattoos is different for everyone. Lots of people have the names of their children tattooed. A few out there have tiny little feet, especially when the children had a difficult start in life. Then there are those with the name of their spouses. Or even more so their portrait. That’s something one might reconsider. Having it removed or covered isn’t easily done. That’s why a number of artists out there will refuse to do so. Then there are words, or entire paragraphs of songs for instance. Usually they have a deeper meaning for someone, especially during a difficult time. They can also function as a positive reminder how to face life. Every tattoo will have a story though, as do mine.
To me stars represent new opportunities, but also something magical and something mystical. They represent times of struggle, dealing with some difficult situations in life and instead of getting all frustrated, I use these to keep a positive outlook on life. I can’t help but smile when I see my stars.
Last but not least, a little advice. Never get a tattoo when you’re drunk. I actually had to sign a document stating I wasn’t. It’s not just because you might end up with something you don’t want, but also because of health risks. Think about alcohol making it harder to stop bleeding, harder to heal, besides you’re not likely to sit very still during the process of tattooing. If you’re not certain how bad it can get, you might want to watch “tattoo fixers”.
Do you take all of the above into consideration, I’m pretty sure the name of this post and Tattoo parlor “No Regrets” I went to, will be the eventual outcome for life. “No regrets”.