Are You Inked?

Tattoos used to be a symbol of the underclass; sailors, bikers and other unseemly folks were the only ones who sported the permanent ink designs. Having a tattoo used to declare to society that you were a rebel, an outsider, an individual who really could care less what anyone thought of you. Nowadays, tattoos seem to be a form of art, a self-expression of your passions, viewpoints, ideals not on a standard art canvas, but on the living, breathing canvas of skin. There are countless variations on tattooing throughout the world today, and narrowing them down and deciding on exactly what you want in a tattoo is essential before taking the leap to permanently adorning yourself.

First and foremost when considering a tattoo is deciding exactly what you want to ink on yourself. You can walk into any tattoo shop in the county and see hundreds, thousands of premade designs to choose from. There are also a good number of resources on the internet that offer a wide variety of premade designs, which you can acquire for a small fee. If you decide you want something more personalized, you can always take in a design you've drawn. The tattoo artists are also more than willing to draw something specialized for you when you go in. They'll normally ask you for some thoughts on what you're wanting and some details of the design you have in mind, and they can whip something up for you. Whichever way you decide to go, make sure that the tattoo in question is something that means something to you. Getting a tattoo is not some spur of the moment decision to make. A tattoo is something that will brand you for life, so something that holds a special significance to you is an important decision to make.