There is an old saying that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Tattoos are basically the same way, a permanent representation of a temporary feeling. I have a friend who recently got a tattoo of a goat, on her lower back. This is what you would typically call a tramp stamp. Her reasoning? Well she was born during the year of the goat, that's why. Not to sound like a jerk, but that is an idiotic reason to get a tattoo. Even if you have a deep connection with that animal, like if you grew up on a ranch and played with goats your entire childhood, which she did not, you still might not feel the same way about them in the future. Not even that, but if you get a tattoo on your back it isn't even for you, it is for others to see, since you can only see your back under specific circumstances, like a series of mirrors. Worst of all though, is that her reason is one of the better reasons people seem to come up with for getting tattoos.
I have another friend who recently got a tattoo. Hers, was the word "love", on her wrist. Now this I find to be both tacky, cliche, and stupid all at once. For one, I find that people who get words tattooed on them don't actually feel anything with them. Granted, maybe they think they do, but every time somebody will see that tattoo they will think of their own connection to the word, whether it be their fear of finding love, their need for it, or they might even think of her as needy because she put love on her wrist as if she was searching for it. In addition, it is entirely uninspired to get a tattoo of a word on yourself. Especially a word like love. Words like love, life, destiny, and things among those lines are such commonplace and always spotlighted so it makes them seem like they are empty when you throw them on yourself. Lastly, I would like to talk placement. Like the tramp stamp (lower back), the wrist is a terrible place to get a tattoo. As a child I read an interview with Shaquille O'Neil, who said that his mom always told him that he could get a tattoo as long as nobody could see it when he wore clothes. I agree with this, because at the very least, you can wear a suit or dress for a job without everybody thinking about your tattoo. If you get it on your wrist, people will see it and constantly see you as a part of it and not it as a part of you.
Examples of friends aside, I really don't feel that tattoos are a very good way to express yourself. I think that they represent you now, and while there are people who remain the same their entire lives, those are few are far between and it doesn't make them right. If somebody wants to express themselves, do it through personality, through who you are. Let your actions reflect who you are, not your appearance. People will not always judge you or see you the right way by your appearance and by applying tattoos to yourself you are basically opening yourself to be misunderstood. Not only that, but those who get tattoos to standout are essentially going from one room full of people to another. It is like going to a Jets game or a Giants game. Both teams play the same sport, both are groups, and saying you don't like one so you can join another doesn't make you special, it just makes you like a different set of everybody else.
On a final note, I must say that there are a lot of dumb people in the world, more than there are smart. I am not saying I am either group, that is up for others to decide. However, with tattoos, like I said before, you are leaving yourself to be misunderstood. Now, I find that the following people are stupid, but for all I know they could be very bright individuals with an amazing impact on the world, but their tattoos make me "misunderstand".
Who would have guessed this cat man was an educated computer programmer?
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