(NaBloPoMo Day One)
Now I know that tattoos are certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. Some people really do hate them quite a bit. They see them as ruining a person’s body, as being something only ‘bad’ people would get. Now I don’t know about you, but I think this point of view is kind of ridiculous. People are entitled to feel how they feel, until they start telling others how to live their lives. It’s perfectly fine if you personally would never get one, but judging a person who has them is kind of sad.
Think of all the wonderful people in the world who have tattoos. Did their personalities change the second that needle and ink touched their skin? I really don’t think it did. Tattoos are a beautiful form of expression and they are becoming more common on all kinds of people. Just walking around the town where I live, I can see many people with hints of ink peeking out under sleeves, or some entirely in full view.
As you can see from the picture at the start of this blog post, I do have some tattoos myself. Some I thought about a lot, some I got just because I wanted to at that moment in time. I don’t regret a single one of them though, each one is a part of me now and I would not have it any other way. There are some with meanings, which I will share with you.
On my left forearm, I have a simple date. Why? Well, this is my brother’s date of birth. He was sadly stillborn, so I never got to have my brother in my life. But I wanted to find a way to keep him with me, to show that even if we never got to meet that I love him very much. It’s a small and simple tattoo, but it’s the most important one I have.
On the back of my left shoulder, I have a quote in script. “A little bird told me.” Now that only really makes sense if you know me and the fact that I’m an ornithophobe. Yes, I’m terrified of birds. I cross the street to avoid pigeons, for example. I just can’t be near them, it makes my blood run cold. I got the tattoo as a reminder not to take myself so seriously, and because I enjoy the fact that people who don’t know me have no idea why I would get something like that inked on my skin.
On my forearm I also have a rather large Deathly Hallows symbol, which is from the Harry Potter series of books. I know that might seem kind of strange, but let me explain. When I think of my childhood, of what it meant and what it was filled with, I think of those books. Reading and writing have always been a huge part of my life and who I am as a person. Those books just spoke to me and I fell deeply in love with them right from the start. So when I wanted something to represent that part of me and my life, of course I chose something from those books.
I have six other tattoos, none of which hold a deeper meaning other than the fact I like the image I chose. It’s kind of funny really that the ones that mean most are all on my left side, entirely without me meaning for it to end up that way. I wonder why that is… maybe it’s just a funny coincidence.
To me, tattoos are incredibly personal. They allow a person to make their skin tell a story of where they’ve been and where they are going. It’s okay if you don’t like them, it’s fine if you’d never get one, but please don’t judge those who have them or say that they have ruined their body forever. In the end it’s my body, my choice and my story that I’m choosing to put on my skin.
Oh, and for those who say “Think about when you’re eighty and how you’ll look covered in tattoos then…” Well, I’ll look like an eighty year old woman who lived her life as she saw fit. What more could I really ask for than that?
xoxo
Amy Lou
Amy Lou Blogs 