to get or not to get
OP, thank you for this post!!!
smiley face tat at 18
>>>>>>> at 45
when all the skin sags, and believe me it does!
i know a lot of people that have them. some love them and some hate them and some have had them covered up or "removed." people get them for as many reasons that are varied as the tats themselves. i just want to share what we told our child when that topic was brought up.
call me conservative but this is my "civilian" OPINION on tats...feel free to disagree with me.
1) it brands you for life. most cant be fully "removed" and the ones that do requires more pain and expense. most need a bigger area to work on than the original tat. its hard to cover a big tat that says "my forever love, WILBUR with my only love, JOE." (no offense to those names.)
2) they identify you and might put you in harms way esp in military jobs that involve intelligence/counter intelligence missions where anonymity is paramount. i think the spy with a life quote on her shoulders or barbed wire around her arm might be limited on what she can do or be assigned. or it might not. people remember you for things that are out of place or unique - a mole, a birthmark, a different eye color, and yes sometimes a tat.
3) it might mean the difference between being hired or not. human resources/hiring managers are 40-45 years or older and mostly conservative, they are not your 18 year old buddies that share your "tats are no big deal" beliefs. first impressions are usually the only impressions that many job applicants get to give during job interviews. you usually will have one shot at that so why give those hiring you a reason to think twice?
4) ask yourself this...if that life event is really that important, why do you need a tat to remind you of it? will you forget it if you werent reminded everyday? will that event even be relevant in 2,5, 10 years? do you want to be reminded of that then? a beautiful wall plaque with the same life quote would work well too (and you can change it if you get bored with it.) a chinese symbol for peace or joy or someone's famous words are meaningless if you dont live it or have it. read an inspirational book or the bible and stimulate your brain by memorizing it quotes or passages.
5) people are superficial and judgemental about stereotypes. the world judges things/people on what they see first and what they know second. thats the world we live in and i dont think that will change ever. i know many good people with tats and not so good people without and we all know its whats inside that counts. people unfortunately choose friends, life partners and business associates on what they first see.
6) tats are fads. and fads are here today and gone tomorrow. what is fashionable today will be a faux pas in a few months or a few years. why do something so permanent? shoes and clothes you can replace, but unblemished skin you can not.
7) last but not least - how many people get skin infections or pigment reactions to tats? HIV, Hep B and C, MRSA et al? i know, what are the chances right? but why risk it too?
Ahh, to quote George Bernard Shaw - "Youth is wasted on the young."