In the summer of 2023, I decided to get a tattoo. I’ve been wanting a tattoo for years, but as someone who is very indecisive about little things such as where to go to eat or what movie to watch, I knew that I needed to be 100% sure about what I wanted tattooed on my body forever. In my experience, getting a tattoo can be broken down into three parts.
The first part of getting a tattoo happens before you even sit down in a chair. It begins with a lot of research. I started by deciding what I wanted a tattoo of and what I wanted it to represent. For this tattoo, I wanted something that represented many things — I wanted it to represent my growth, my life, and my favorite show, “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” When I finally decided on my idea — two koi fish circling each other — I was able to move onto the next step, which was finding an artist. Deciding on an artist is an important step since each artist has their own style and pricing. I talked to local artists in Boulder, including Tribal Rites, but eventually found an artist in Denver whose style I fell in love with.
The second part, which is probably the most fun part, includes getting the tattoo. There is a lot of prep work that the artist does before they are ready to ink you — they design the piece, choose the right equipment and colors, and make sure that everything is properly sanitized and clean. Since tattooing creates an open wound on your body, making sure everything is clean and properly sanitized is crucial. For me, the most important thing I had to keep in mind was communicating with my artist during the entire process. I asked to try different sizes on different parts of my body before deciding on the final stencil. I remembered that it would be on me for the rest of my life if I didn’t speak out when I didn’t like something. As for the pain, it depends on the placement. Since mine was on my bicep, it wasn’t as painful as compared to a calf. I’d rate the pain a 4/10, as it felt like one long cat scratch.
The final part of getting a tattoo is the aftermath. Although getting a tattoo is incredibly cool and fun, the taking care of part is not as fun (at least to me). Remembering to wash it with antibacterial soap and moisturizing it with a fragrance-free lotion has been a challenge, especially as my days get busier and I spend less time at home. However, I’d say it’s worth it to be able to have an amazing piece of art with so much meaning on my arm forever.
I can officially check off getting a tattoo on my bucket list, and it is so amazing to me to have someone’s art on me forever. Every now and then, I look at my arm and forget that I have a tattoo there, but I am absolutely in awe and adoration of it each time.