12 years of tattoos

Hey girls, please don't remove those sexy lower back tattoos or touch those beautiful arm sleeves. Guys, keep the barbed wire armband and demon heads. Tattoos are a great representation of specific time period in our lives and our overall journey. It doesn't matter if you consider your tattoo to be a fad, a rebellious act or a form of self expression. Having the fortitude to live in the moment and express your feelings artistically is an incredible. Tattooing doesn't have to serve a specific purpose. I always get asked what my tattoos mean? I can never give a definitive answer because each tattoo's meaning changes over time. Every individual's tattoo has its own unique everlasting story. Every tattoo cannot have lifelong intense philosophical meaning but they all can have great history. They may have one meaning when they were inked that will likely evolve with age and maturity. People aren't going to have the same mottos, creeds or perspective through their lifetime. They evolve just like ink. Tattooing will always be a part of my persona. It starting with a fad tattoo I inked on my leg and it has moved on to the elaborate city skyline on my back. They are my favorite form of self expression. I was first inked at sixteen and I will be tattooed again after my twenty-eighth birthday. Surprisingly over the past 12 years I haven't been asked much if I regret being inked. I'm sure it has been mentioned amongst others, but it was rarely expressed to me. I've questioned several decision as a mid twenty-some but ink is not one of them. I first got tattooed for shock value and to follow trends. Like the actual ink, the act's meaning has evolved too. I see tattooing as both therapeutic and spiritual. I can distinctively remember every person I spent a tattoo session with. I consider it an ultimate bonding act. Is this too deep and or reading too much into it? I don't think so. I try never to be critical of anyones ink, their motivation for getting tattooed or their overall experience. I highly recommend tattooing and I hope to continue to embrace friend's experiences and to share my own.