Guys I kind of want to get a tattoo of a little bird on the inside of my ankle but I am so paranoid, because, you know, forever. How do I know I am ready for one?
Serious answer: If you're worried about it, don't get one.
I have been tattooed for...
(quick count of fingers and toes, and back to fingers again) almost 24 years. I have amazing, custom work from unbelievably talented artists, I have some straight up, off-the-wall flash that struck my fancy at the time. I also have total crap from when I was teaching myself to tattoo. None of which bothers me. In fact, most of the time, I don't even think about the fact that I'm tattooed.
Seriously.
As a former tattoo artist, and having been getting inked by the same guy for most of my big pieces for twenty years, I can tell you without a doubt that I am not the only personality type out there. I've seen people totally lose it over what they perceive to be anything less than "perfect." My main artist and I have had long conversations about how some people really take that "It's on my body
forever" thing very seriously, where some people will cover themselves with total chicken scratch just to be tattooed. Naturally, everybody falls somewhere on that spectrum, leaning one way or the other.
To me, the tattoo is less about the image itself, and more about me being able to remember what was going on at the point in time that I got it. I honest-to-god have no problems having a shitty outline in the middle of my thigh for the last fifteen years that peeks out every time I wear shorts. It's not a shitty outline to me, it's "That's the second tattoo I ever did with my first set of tattoo machines, and when I realized it wasn't going so well, I stopped and said I would finish it later." It just so happens that later hasn't come yet.
If you're sweating the "it's forever" thing, wait. Make sure you're totally happy with it. Make sure that the design means something to you and you're happy with the placement. Most importantly,
find an artist with a similar attitude to you. You don't want a guy like me doing your work because I frankly don't have the patience for it. Because I don't think it's a big deal to get a tattoo, I get frustrated with customers making a production about 'it's forever'. On the other hand, there are guys out there who are that way themselves and totally get it. They'll spend the time with you making sure you're comfortable with everything and you'll have a much more positive experience. Because nothing is worse than getting the tattoo and it being a negative experience. I have a large, very well done piece by a famous artist:
I really don't like it.
Why? Because the guy was an asshole to me. I've talked with other people who have some ink from him, and they said he's very cool. Maybe he just had a bad day when I had my appointment. Maybe our personalities just clashed. I don't know, but I thought the guy was a jerk and it's one of the only tattoos I have that I'm not completely content with.
On the other hand, I have a tattoo from a party where a drunken friend who had never even held a tattoo machine wanted to try it out, so I let her give me one (a little one to be sure) that I love, because it's all about the experience to me, not the image or the forever part.
Cliff's Notes: If you're worried about it, my advice is to wait and look around for an artist who makes you comfortable.
