Tattoo Manual

I've been trying to convince my parents to get me a tattoo for years now (with no success). This post is dedicated to people who want to convince their parents to let them get a tattoo, provided they're getting it for the right reasons (I don't support impulsive decisions when it comes to tattoos because they're permanent and aren't supposed to be marks of regret later in your lives). 

This post addresses the various reasons why people get tattoos and where could one ideally get a tattoo.

REASONS

According to a tattoo artist on Teen Wolf, the Tahitian word 'tatau' means to leave a mark. Thus, it is not only the content of the tattoo that symbolises something, but the act of getting yourself tattooed itself is symbolic. In many cultures, getting a tattoo is actually a rite of passage. 

However, the reasons for getting tattoos have changed over time. Now, tattoos aren't just symbols of rites of passage; they're style statements, drunken mistakes, and so on and so forth. Very often, they're regretted later in peoples' lives because they haven't thought properly about what getting a tattoo would mean. To illustrate, I once came across a facebook post in which a girl got the face of her boyfriend of one week on her arm. And then he broke up with her because he thought she was a creep. While it was spectacularly hilarious to read, it really is something to think about. People get their partners' names tattooed all the time, and when there's a divorce/break-up, they regret their tattoo. The point of this paragraph is this: do not get a tattoo if you aren't 100% sure that you won't regret it. 

Then there are people who get impersonal tattoos that is meant more for style statement than what it personally means to the person who carries the tattoo. Very often, regrets in this case range from fading of colours of tattoos (which makes it lose points for style) to the design of tattoo going out-of-date. Sometimes, people just deal with having these tattoos. They have no specific attachments to them. If you're thinking about getting a tattoo for reasons that have the phrase 'style statement' somewhere in them, then you need to think carefully if you get one. Make sure you do not regret it.

Now the third reason to get a tattoo goes back to the tahitian meaning of the word itself. Being marked is a rite of passage itself, but the content of the mark illustrates exactly what you're trying to immortalise. For example, one of my friends wanted a phoenix tattoo because she wanted her body to carry the proof that she overcame the hard periods in her life and was born anew because of them. These kinds of tattoos are hard to regret, especially if you're a sentimentalist who loves to hoard various things/marks that represent important moments in your life. 

My reason for wanting a tattoo is the third one-- I want a tattoo that captures something that I will always believe in. It would be a kind of an anchor for me. So, when I find myself adrift, I can just look at it and feel grounded. Obviously, it was hard to find something that I will always believe in-- I took years and years to decide what I believed in the most. And then I took some more time to think about what could capture what I believed in perfectly. I want an Oroboros. For people who do not know what it is, it is a serpent eating it's own tail. It means a lot of things to me: it means that no matter how many changes I may face, there is still hope for some continuity; it means that I can always find light at the end of a dark tunnel; it means balance between what I do and what I get. It also marks me as a Slytherin (which was a secondary, but not unimportant reason for me choosing this). 

POSITIONING

If you're not a celebrity, I'd recommend that you be smart about where you get the tattoo. A lot of professional fields are very strict about tattoos on bodies. It's fairly justified too-- if you're a lawyer and you have a smiley face tattooed on your cheek, do you really expect any potential clients, the opposition or even the judge to take you seriously? There are some rules that need to be followed when you're deciding where to get a tattoo. take a look at the following points:

1. Make sure that your tattoo isn't exposed too much to the sun. 

The more exposed your tattoo is to the sun, the faster it fades. And tattoos really don't look nice if they're faded. 

2. Make sure it can be easily hidden.

Being a lawyer or a banker doesn't mean that you can't have a tattoo-- just be smart about where you're getting it. Make sure to get it in a place where people can't see it. While this may go against the mindsets of people who want to flaunt their tattoos to the world, they need to realise that getting a tattoo in an overly exposed patch of skin would not only make it fade faster, but can also have severe repercussions later in their lives.

3. The pain factor.

Getting tattooed on fleshy parts hurt less. So, if you're looking for places where they can be easily hidden and yet not cause you a lot of pain when it's being done, think of places like chest, biceps, stomach. Because I'm a masochist (my teacher said so; sometimes I believe her), I want to get mine close to my ankle. The ankle is one of the most painful areas where one can get a tattoo because it's so close to the bone. I imagine mine as the serpent would look like it's wrapped around my ankle, instead of a circle on it. Just remember-- if pain is a factor which affects where you get a tattoo, avoid bone-protruding areas.

Mom, dad, if you're reading this, please know that I've really really thought about this and I really want a tattoo. 

For people in Delhi who are looking for Tattoo parlours to go to or tattoo artists to get more information from, I'd recommend you seek out Mr. Adarsh in Kamla Nagar. He's more into piercing, but his sister-in-law has a tattoo parlour (the visiting card for which I've inconveniently misplaced) in Kamla Nagar itself. I'm pretty sure his magic hands are a family thing, so if my parents allow me to get a tattoo, I'd be making my way over there without a second thought.

If you need to know something more about tattoos, you can always leave a comment for yours sincerely, 
~Orange