Tattoo Tag!

Tattoos used to be one of those things you didn't talk about. It was taboo. You were a delinquent or a bad person if you had any. Well guess what? It's 2014 and it's becoming a fad now and I couldn't be more stoked about it. Tattoos are amazing when they're done right and even more so when there's a story behind them. Also, I absolutely LOVE color tattoos.

How many tattoos do I have and where? Well I'll tell ya!

I got my first tattoo when I was 19, in 2009. I didn't know what I wanted or what the pain was going to be like. I just knew I HAD to get one. I stuck to something small on the back of my neck. Your typical heart is what I went with. It had no meaning, I just wanted to get it. 

Let me tell you, I barely made it out alive. I was so nervous before that I didn't eat. Bad idea. I became light-headed, dizzy and nauseous. The lines were supposed to be thicker but I couldn't handle it. My sister took a picture of me hurled over a trash can ready to spew but luckily I didn't. (TIP: Always eat and hydrate before getting a tattoo. Trust me.) I have yet to get this tattoo touched up because I've realized, I don't like getting a tattoo where I can't see what's going on. I'm hoping one day I'll touch that puppy up but for now it's not a priority of mine.

I decided to try the tattoo thing again but this time I knew what I wanted. I got two tattoos in 2010. First I got a Bible verse, 1 Cor. 13:4-8,13 which reads, "4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres...8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away... 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I was in a really bad relationship and the break-up wasn't any better and I wanted, no I needed something to help keep me going. Something to remind me the kind of love I deserve. I had it placed on my left wrist because it's my ring finger hand and I wanted to be able to see it every day. It's been a great reminder going through trials and tribulations since.

A few weeks later I decided to get hip tattoos. I wanted something that matched. I went with music notes with wings. Not many know this, but I'm musically inclined. I took band in grade school and taught myself five instruments. Music in school really helped me get through things. I'd write songs, poems, try to make up my own chords and even started practicing to audition for a music school. 

Sorry the lighting is so bad on this one. As you can see, it needs to be touched up. I've put it off because it hurt so BAD. I didn't expect it to hurt as bad as it did. This was by far the most painful tattoo I have gotten yet. (TIP: Do not wear jeans or any type of clothing that will rub on your tattoos. It will cause the color to fade. I unfortunately wore jeans after getting this done and it messed it up quite a bit.) Because of how bad these hurt, I count them as two separate tattoos. Haha!

My fifth tattoo I got in February 2011. I always wanted to get tattoos resembling my family. I had become really close to my little sister during this time. She's the only full-blooded sister that I have. I decided to get her birth flower and my artist suggested using her initials as the stem and I loved the idea. This was how it came out. The foot wasn't too bad pain wise. My leg twitched at times uncontrollably and I kept sweating! The closer to the edge he got, the more it hurt. The worst part was the next day. My foot swelled and throbbed. It was not fun.

And we come to my last and most favorite tattoo, my sugar skull. My grandma became sick with Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) and she was slipping away from us very fast. I wanted to get something in remembrance of her. I started the piece before she passed and finished it after she took her last breaths. 

She was full Mexican and a Day of the Dead skull just seemed right for a remembrance. There are 5 roses, for her 5 granddaughters including myself. I chose the rose because it is her birth flower. The only thing I asked of the artist was for the candle to be a traditional red and the roses to be yellow. He did everything else. I absolutely love this piece. 

Tattoos are a beautiful thing and the fact that they're starting to be normalized is so awesome. 

From my inked body to you,

-Amanda :)

*All photos posted were taken today May 17, 2014.