mind and muse

3 days ago, I adopted my 5th tattoo. I drew a whimsical-esc lily flower intended for my left ribcage, and it turned out more beautiful then I could’ve imagined. Every tattoo that i’ve gotten before that one, i’ve had the same thought that I am going to discuss here soon. To preface, I think tattoos are the most personal, meaningful (even if they have no distinct meaning), artistic act of self-expression anyone could execute. There’s nothing more important to mean than art, therefore I view any tattoo as something worth while.

After receiving my new tattoo, I got to thinking about all the made-up rules we’re not only told as children, but simply the rules in our minds that are on auto-pilot when doing things that make us happy. And maybe no one told us these rules deliberately, but somewhere along the way they appeared. My best example for this is tattoos. I always knew personally that I wanted them to some capacity, they just fit my brand and seem to make sense for me. With that being said, women are always given reasons to not to do something to alter her appearance, or for that matter; her body. And up until I’ve had this epiphany, I always wanted to believe the make belief rules society has created for us are fact. “Don’t get tattoos because someday when you have to dress in black tie attire, you’ll look like a man”. “Do you really want to be an old lady with tattoos?”. Those are things that are said in attempt to keep us untouched; pure. A decision like getting tattoos, no matter if you only want one, or a full sleeve, should be deeply though about of course. However, the argument of “It won’t look good when you dress up” is incredibly insulting, as are most of these cynical standards. If you don’t want to get a tattoo because of the chance you MIGHT be invited to your future co-workers wedding once in ten years, whom you don’t even like, might mean you don’t want it enough, in my opinion. Making a decision for anything in life based on one event that could maybe take place, seems a bit irrational. As for careers too, if that’s a factor it may be a different story. Anyways, I love my tattoos because I have them every single day, they look great when i’m dressed down, and they look even BETTER when i’m dressed up for a formal occasion. And I heavily look forward to being an old women with pieces of my life inked on my body.

It’s not just tattoos, and it’s also not just women. In the back of mind, whenever I make some decision, there can be a sliver of hesitation. But it’s never logical, it comes from a gross place of embarrassment, or unnecessary doubt. And 90% of the time, it’s stuff that I deep down I don’t believe, but every now and then i’ll listen anyways. When you have adults who know nothing, and the media trend hopping between being “swag” and being classy, it’s a teeter toter of confusion, and a weird pressure of doing things “the right way”. These realizations have led me to no specific answers, but it definitely has encouraged me to quit caring, and has helped me on my journey of self-discovery and independence.