Blog Block and Tattoos

So... I, like some other people I know, seem to have blog block today. I will post some randomness to fill this gap in my blog posts.

Tattoos. When I was in college, I thought for two seconds about getting a tattoo. Then I thought... that would be really stupid, since you have no way of knowing if you will still want it 10 years from now. Just get a piercing.

Eight years later, I got a tattoo. And then another one 9 months after that. And next Saturday, I'm getting another and having my second one added to because it feels unfinished. I no longer worry about how I will feel about them 10 years from now. I think the ones I've chosen are pretty timeless... if you can use that word for tattoos. I also have chosen to put them in places that are quite easy to cover.

The reactions you get from people when you have tattoos are widely varied. Some people love them, some hate them. Some are indifferent. My friend Sara wrote a blog once on what she thought people thought about her, being a mom and having several tattoos. Although tattoos, unlike skin color or the shape of your nose, are something you get to choose, I still think it really is important to get to the place where you really don't care if other people disapprove of your appearance before you get a tattoo. If you've really put a lot of thought and effort into your tattoo and chose a really great artist, chances are you are going to absolutely love it and other people's opinions really aren't going to be an issue.

Now I kind of forget why I was writing about this in the first place.

Oh... right... My new tattoo will be the word 'Love,' which I know seems incredibly cliché but I'm getting it to represent to me Colossians 3:14 -- "Regardless of what else you put on, wear Love. It is your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it." And I want it on my arm where I can see it every day. (I can see my other ones every day, but one is on my back/shoulder so I need a mirror to see it and the other is on my side where I can't really see it except when I'm getting ready in the morning). I've had quite a few people tell me I shouldn't get it on my arm. That they think it will look strange. That I should get it on my foot if I really have to get it. But isn't it just as bad to get a tattoo you want, but not where you want it, as it is to get a tattoo of something you aren't sure about? It's kind of permanent. It's not like you can peel it off and move it.

So... here is a fake representation of my new tattoo. I want it to be muted green so it's not like a huge black mark on my very pale arm. The script sucks because it is really difficult to write from that angle. (And did I mention my arm is really pale and scary looking?) But... this is what I really want. I think it will turn out okay. As long as I like it, that's what really matters, right?