My First Tattoo: Part 2

A significant amount of time has passed since I got my first tattoo and I'm relived to say that I still have zero regrets. So I promised you guys in my last post that I will be revealing the meaning behind the tattoo and also sharing my experience with the healing process.

I can confidently say that my tattoo is completely healed. In fact, I often forget it's even there except when someone catches a glimpse of it and asks me what it means. Then I remember, oh I have a tattoo on my neck! It's bitter sweet how I rarely get it to see it myself and it's on my body, but at least it means I'd never get tired of it.

Since this was such a small piece, the healing process was over before I even realized it was "healing". My tattoo artist recommended to use a water-based lotion but when do I ever follow the rules. I just used my Korres body butter and the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair cream after I shower
and whenever I remember to. The scabbing occurred the day after, I'm not sure if it's normal or because I have 3x more white blood cells than the regular human, and all in all took around 2 weeks to completely disappear. Now, many of you are probably wondering about the infamous dreadful itching during cellular repair period but for me it was not bad at all. There were lapses of an annoying itching sensations but patting my neck lightly gave me great relief. Now, over a month later, it is 100% healed and I love it more and more.

Like any ink that is in a foreign language, aka not in English, the first question you will get is "what does your tattoo mean?". The manager of the Chinese restaurant that my friend works at made a remark on how my tattoo means force ... and I guess it does, even if I've been telling people it translate into strength. Nevertheless, this simple two stroke figure symbolizes a powerful word, with many interpretations. For one, there is the physical aspect of having body strength which is important in living a healthy life. On the other hand and more importantly, possessing a deeper strength emotionally might just be the biggest factor to success and happiness. Its homonymous definition of force also brings in a spiritual characteristic as I do believe in the fact that there are forces in the world that make certain events happen that are out of our control. Now, one of the most difficult decisions which delayed the amount of it time it took to finalize on this tattoo was the placement. I finally decided on putting it on my neck. The reason being is the fact that the neck connects our head to our bodies; strength of body, strength of mind. 

Also, it helps that my hair covers it unless I tied my hair up... or so I thought. Let me just tell you that my mother is the president of the anti-tattoo club. She once said that she would kick me out of the house if I ever got one but you know me. Honestly, I expected to hide this from her at least until I completely move out and she can't do anything about it but clearly that didn't happen. Remember how I mentioned how I often forget that it's even there. Well I had my hair tied up and my mom was sitting behind me and of course, mom's knows and see everything so I got the silent treatment for a week followed by a good scolding, actually more like 3 hour lecture that was very reminiscent of a time-out. I just let her ramble because it'll relief some of her anger and it's not like she can do anything about it now anyways. Like I said in my last post, a tattoo is something you get for yourself so never let anyone tell you if or if not you should get one. 

“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” 

My First Tattoo: Part 1

Since I love my readers almost more than my friends and family, you guys are the first people that I will be sharing my first tattoo with along with the experience . Now I'm known of commitment issues but somehow the thought of getting permanent ink engraved into your skin excites me, so much so that it has an addicting element to it.  The experience was overall very pleasant, which definitely motivates me into getting more. I wish I got a video of the entire process but honestly it was so quick and uneventful, it would have been rather boring. Anyways, let me get into the details from the inspiration behind the tattoo, the place I got it done, and the pain or lack of. 

One of the main goals in my New Years Resolutions for 2014 is to be open to new things as in trying things I've never tried before. What a better way to tackle this resolution than to start by crossing things off my life bucket list. Guess what was #1 on that list? Getting tatted up of course, but the first one has to be meaningful, at least to me. I've wanted this tattoo for almost 3 years, consistently. I also had many other ideas on my mind but this one remained my most coveted. The reason why I put it off was just the little fact that my mother said she would disown me if I were to ever get one, no big deal. Of course this made me want to get it more but for a while, I was convinced that she was actually serious. Finally, my rebellious side took over and here we are today. It's been 2 weeks and she has yet to notice and I've been wearing my hair in a ponytail all day everyday. My baby sister is not as easy to trick ...

I am a firm believer of getting anything your heart desires and not let anyone talk you out of it because their opinion shouldn't and doesn't matter when it comes to something that is going on your body. However, personally I want all my body art to have meaning. It doesn't have to be a significant one but I'm not about to get little hearts or stars because they look nice. The inspiration for this tattoo originated from Megan Fox's first tattoo, which was the same symbol. She has some of the most beautiful body art ever in the best placements on her body as well. After seeing a picture, it never left my mind. I love how this Chinese symbol looks, very simple yet not girly or too masculine. The only thing left was to decide where to place it on my body and how big it's going to be. And trust me, this took a lot longer than I expected. After 6 months of deliberating, I had finally came to a conclusion...

It was narrowed down to having it at the back of my neck in the center or a little lower in between my shoulders. My tattoo artist placed the stencil in both locations and we all agreed that the neck option was more suitable. Also, I wanted to keep my left shoulder blade empty for my next quote tattoo. As for the size, I literally just a photo of the symbol straight off Google and told her to make a stencil from it. Overall, I am beyond satisfied with the placement and size. 

As an active researcher, I went on the internet to investigate the most reputable shops in the GTA. The tattoo parlour I decided to put my trust in was Speakeasy, a small shop in Koreatown. I would advise anyone who is getting their first tattoo to do some sort of preparation; read review, look at the artist's portfolio, etc. Since I was getting a massive piece, I just needed a place that is friendly (non-judgmental), sanitary, and professional. In addition, I needed to be able to walk in and have it done since we had reservations for dinner that night. I tested my luck and asked for Lizzie (the store owner) but of course she doesn't take walk-ins .. figures. But Tammy was available so I just went for it. The entire process from beginning to end took less than 10 minutes. What I especially loved about this place was the fact that they accepted credit card as a payment, which somehow made this whole experience less sketchy than places that only take cash. I dropped a whole $100 on this tiny piece but that's just because of the store minimum so next time I will definitely be getting multiple on the same sitting. 

Speakeasy Tattoo

Now I know one of the biggest factors that discourages people from getting a tattoo is the fear of the pain. Before I go on to describe how it feels, you guys need to know that I have an extremely high pain tolerance. Let me put this into perspective ... I can pierce my own earlobes without a flinch. however, the short sharp "pain" of a piercing is much different from the feeling of getting a tattoo. The best way I can describe it is a sharp object scratching you over and over in the same spots. Also, some strokes are a little more potent than others. After it's done, it feels slightly hot and an aching sensation lingers (more so from being so tense). I was 100% relaxed and the whole 2 minutes was anything but dreadful. Honestly, it is not as bad you would expect so don't let the pain be the only thing stopping you from getting a tattoo.

If you read this entire post,  you probably now know more than you need to know about my tattoo. However, this is just part one because I have yet to reveal the reason and meaning behind the tattoo which will probably be in the follow up post in a month on the healing process. If you care for my opinion, don't ever let anyone tell you what should or should not get. As long as you want it and love it, everything will be fine. 

"Strength is the capacity to break a Hershey bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of the pieces."