Tats

I love tattoos. I'll just let that out there right now. Most people who know me know that tattoos are one of my favorite things of all time. Hell, I'm planning on writing my dissertation someday about tattoos. I've watched dozens of friends and family get tattoos over the years (my proudest moment: my mother) and each time I've been there, I get such an awesome sensation that this underground culture is finally finding its way back into the mainstream after so many years as a taboo form of self-expression. Yes it was once very much accepted, royalty had tattoos for christs-sake. Personally, I plan on finishing sleeves, my back, feet and ankles, hips, chest and possibly various other places that I haven't thought of yet. My mom can no longer groan when I tell her what I want since she has come to the dark side. Dad still grumbles, but secretly he likes them all. I love art, and what better way to stay in touch with art than to wear it? The skin is such a maleable, accepting canvas. I enjoy having people on the street walk up to me and ask about the woman on my shoulder or the shapes on my forearm. I've had some of the most enlightening conversations of my life with people who were only asking about my tattoos. We trade stories. Tattoos cross culture boundaries too, since every continent on the planet (besides Antarctica of course) has a history of the people tattooing themselves. This is no joke. Look it up. China, New Zealand, all over Africa, South America, Europe, India, the list goes on and on. I feel that not only am I contributing to my own personal beauty, but I'm participating in a long tradition of body adornment, something that started thousands of years ago and can still be seen on mummies. It really comes down to the human need for adorning themselves to show off status, beauty, strength or any number of reasons, depending on the culture. The next time you see someone with an interesting tattoo, I highly reccommend that you ask about it. You might be surprised with their answer.

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NY Times Tattoo Comeback!