I’ve wanted a tattoo ever since I was in high school. For years, I had a Pinterest board full of tattoo ideas that I would frequently update with various fine-line style tattoos; the classics, like a butterfly or flowers.
I am a notoriously indecisive person. I can’t even decide what to make for dinner most days, let alone make a decision about something that would be on my body for the rest of my life. So, when I finally turned 18 — unlocking the ability to stroll into a tattoo studio and get inked — it made the decision exponentially more difficult. I spent a lot of months dwelling on it, and did plenty of research.
Observing my friends’ tattoo experiences helped me to select the right placement for my own. Before I even decided what design I wanted, I knew that I wanted it on my left shoulder. A friend of mine had gotten a tattoo there, and I absolutely loved how it looked. I knew it was the perfect spot.
After that, I turned to Instagram to scout for an artist whose style resonated with me, and I ended up finding two artists at the same studio who did illustrative-style, black-and-white tattoos of plants and animals. Since I still hadn’t chosen a design I wanted, I kept up with the flash designs that the artists were posting. I liked a lot of the designs, but none of them were really speaking to me. I knew they weren’t the right ones.
Almost two years later, I finally found the perfect flash design for me! It was a drawing of a leaf from my favourite tree, the ginkgo. When I saw the design, I immediately knew I had to get it. I contacted the artist and set my appointment date — this was really happening!
On the day of my appointment, the nerves began to hit. I wasn’t worried about the design — I knew it was perfect — but I was nervous about the pain. In my research, I found that different people had very different experiences with tattoo pain levels. One person said it just felt like scratching a sunburn, while another said it felt like a ton of paper cuts, so I had no idea what to expect.
I arrived at the studio a bit early and greeted the artist. She had thoughtfully prepared a few size samples of the design for me to choose from. After some adjustments, we settled on the perfect placement. With everything in order, I took my place on the table, and the artist began by shaving and sterilizing the area. She asked me if I wanted her to tattoo a line without ink to see what it felt like, but I just wanted to get it started.
Given the relatively modest size of my tattoo, the entire process took roughly 30 minutes. Once it was done, the pain felt a bit like that of a sunburn, but that sensation lasted for about an hour, and after that, I experienced no pain at all. Now, my tattoo is well on its healing journey and looks fantastic. I couldn’t be happier with my decision, and I’m excited about the permanent piece of art I now carry with me!