Tattoo Stories, No. 1

Like almost everyone else out there who has tattoos, I've wanted ink since I was a little kid. I've spent years planning and revising tattoo plans. I have plans drawn out on notebook paper, pictures saved to my computer and phone, a folder for tattoos on instagram, a whole board on pinterest too...It's just something that's always been fun to me to plan and exciting to think about actually getting.

When I actually did decide to get my first one, it was because I was scrolling through instagram and I saw a post from one of the artists I followed about a "flash sale" going on for Halloween this past October where they were offering "flash" tattoos for a maximum price of $70 on Friday the 13th. I admit it was more of an impulse decision; I'd been staring at my tattoo pinterest board for fun all day and so seeing the word "sale" just did the trick. In my head, I was thinking that since it was a flash sale, obviously the tattoos weren't going to be that big, so it would be good for a first tattoo considering I didn't actually know my pain tolerance.

So the day came for the flash sale and I was all ready to go, but before we went, I looked on instagram to see if any of the artists from the shop had posted the available designs on their story. When I saw that they did, I did a quick look through. Honestly, nothing grabbed my attention. I found myself staring at the designs and almost trying to convince myself that I wanted them. In the end, I didn't get a flash tattoo that day. Regardless of how great of a deal it was, I knew I'd be settling for something I didn't really want too much.

BUT!

While I didn't get a tattoo that exact day, the whole process leading up had solidified in my decision that I wanted a tattoo and wanted it soon.

Design and Location

Like I mentioned before, I've been planning tattoos since forever, some of the plans originating from when I was only 10 years old. The funny thing is that the design for my first tattoo wasn't actually anywhere in the original plans I'd made through the years.

I ended up picking this as my first tattoo for a few reasons. I'd been scrolling through pinterest trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Initially, I'd made the decision that since it was my first tattoo, I would get one of the designs that weren't too big or too detailed, and also would get it in a place that was easy to hide because at the time, I still had to hide my tattoos from my parents. This left me placement wise with either my hip, my thigh, or my side, so those were the tattoos I was looking at. In my scrolling though, I ended up revisiting all my other tattoo plans too.

I was looking at underboob tattoo inspiration when I passed a design of a sun underboob tat (the cover picture for this post). I clicked it honestly because it was different than most of the underbreast tattoos I'd always seen. I was used to seeing mandalas, plants, flowers, words, and the infamous Rihanna underboob tattoo. I'd also seen tattoos of the sun and the moon together, but I don't know...The sun by itself just seemed really different so I wanted a better look.

When I clicked on the tattoo picture though, a few things suddenly clicked in my own head.

1. A lot of the tattoos I have planned are actually dedication tattoos to people who mean a lot to me in my life. It just always seemed like a way to always carry the person with me and I like the idea of looking down, seeing the tattoo and being comforted because of the person the tattoo would symbolize. At the time, I'd been struggling to find the right tattoo for my best friend, T, because he is by far one of the most important people to me and the more I love the person, the more difficult it is to find what their tattoo should be.
2. Following the first 'click', I remembered that for T's last birthday, I'd given him a solar system bracelet. It was really a symbolic gift because he loves space, but at the same time the beads on the bracelet form the planets, meaning the wearer becomes the "sun" when they have it on. When I got him the bracelet, the card I gave him explained all that, and I remembered how he's such a light in my own life, which is why I saw it fitting for him to be the "sun".

For some reason after those two things popped in my head, it was just a gut feeling that my first tattoo had to be an underbust sun tattoo. It was like there was no question about it, which to me was strange considering I'd always wanted an underboob tattoo, but could NEVER decide what I wanted there. Obviously, it's a big piece and a painful place to tattoo, so I knew whatever I got there had to something I REALLY wanted. The decision to get the sun was so quick, but so solid as soon as I thought it that I had to do it.

Tattoo Meaning

Like I mentioned, the tattoo is symbolic and dedicated to my best friend, T, who I associate with the sun in so many ways.

He is so bright, with one of the most amazing, creative, intuitive minds I've ever seen. He's radiant, with so much ambition and this drive to do amazing things, not only for himself but for the people he cares about. Because of that, he makes other people want to do better too and inspires them to go out and chase the things they want.

He's also a really warm presence like the sun. In some of the most difficult times in my life, he's been a comfort to me, a warm, safe space. He reminds me of soft daylight peeking through windows when you first wake up, or the warm rays of sun on your back when it's a little too chilly outside. And he's just a light in my life that I never hope to lose. When things are bleak or dreary, he always makes me smile. His own smile is so radiant and happy, I can't help but cheer up.

After realizing the initial meanings and symbolisms, it was funny to me because I kept finding even more symbolism to it. Like for one, the placement of the tattoo is right on my chest, nearest to my physical heart. It's corny, but I hold him very dear to my heart so the placement just fit. Aside from that, I realized that he was a huge Game of Thrones fan and one of his favorite pairings is Khal Drogo and Daenerys, and it just so happens that their famous lines are where he calls her "Moon of my life" and she calls him "My sun and stars". It seemed fitting to me because even though we're not in a romantic relationship like Khal Drogo and Dany, he's "my" sun in that we're always there for one another and love each other so much.

Getting the Tattoo

After deciding what I wanted, I looked through all the artists I was a fan of on my instagram and researched each of their pages for a couple days. I ended up choosing an amazing artist named Will Backus from Red Octopus in Crofton. He didn’t have an email on the website or on his instagram, so I DMed him to ask about the best way to contact him. He responded really quickly and said that through DM was actually fine, so I explained my idea. After I sent some reference pictures, he gave me a quote and said to come to the shop to schedule an appointment, which I did almost the very next day.

The day of the tattoo, I was really excited and nervous, but not as jittery as I thought. T came with me to get the tattoo, which probably helped with the nerves. I was really happy he came with me cause I really can’t think of who I would've wanted there if not him.

When Will came out, he showed me the design and it was so beyond pretty. Since it was my first tattoo and it was going on my chest, I didn’t actually know if the size was right yet when he asked so he said we could just check in the back. After that, I followed him to the back, changed into the little slip he gave me to wear, and then we went on to size the tattoo correctly. He was really detailed and meticulous about getting everything right which I really appreciated. He resized it twice and then ended up editing a part of tattoo because he wasn’t satisfied with it and wanted to make sure I was also satisfied with it.

Getting the actual tattoo definitely hurt, but it wasn’t unbearable pain. It was just definitely something you couldn’t ignore, so more of an “annoying” pain. Places it hurt a LOT more were the center of my chest right over my sternum and directly over any of my ribs. Through the whole thing, I had T sitting next to me though, so whenever it hurt, I just squeezed his hand or arm.

Overall

My first tattoo, from the content of the design to actually getting it done was just perfect to me. I think that even after all the other ink I get, this might remain my favorite piece. It's definitely one of the most meaningful, and I'm so glad I got it.

Tattoo placement: Underbreast

Design: Sun with jewels hanging from it

Artist: Will Backus, @iaunu on instagram

Pain rating: 6, maybe 7 in specific areas

- Alice