senior project

WHY I CHOOSE MY TOPIC

the reason why i choose my topic is because i'm not really interested in anything else. when given that survey to fill out to help choose my topic it went a different way. i couldn't talk about what i wanted to in class and wouldn't be able to present it or anything like that. my topic is tattoos. yes i have tattoos and by the end of this project ill probably have more. i have everything needed to do tattoos also but i am not the best artist. i know artist though and that is how i got my tattoos. being a tattoo artist is a lot harder then people think. i find it an incredible talent. also tattoos are really cool and can tell stories. i am incredibly interested in tattoos for many reasons. you can be so original with them to. sure people get the most common ones that they have seen before, but no tattoo is exactly the same as another, they could have different artist, different ink and position. then there's the feeling you get when your getting a tattoo, people think they hurt, and they might to some people, but not me. i have a high pain tolerance. to me tattoos dont hurt, they tickle and get boring at points when it takes to long, or its relaxing like getting a massage. they might hurt afterwards though and will be a little sore and tender but that's just fine by me. people get tattoos just to have a tattoo and i dont think that's right, i believe all tattoos should have meaning to them. people also believe that you will most likely regret getting a tattoo, but i believe you should "regret nothing and live everyday like there's no tomorrow" and that's another tattoo i will be getting. (and did get) i have so many ideas for them. tattoos are really awesome, but there not for everyone. you should really think hard before getting one and think, is this what i really want? is this really for me? to me that answer is yes almost every time. there is just so much you can do with tattoos and it takes a lot of talent. its not as easy as you would think.

THE TURNING POINT

i guess it all started a few years back when i was in Hawaii. down there the legal age to get a tattoo is sixteen. when i was there i didn't get a real tattoo though i just got henna, i loved it so much i wanted a real one. i always seen people with tattoos around and though they are so cool. i would just sit around and google images of peoples tattoos and admire them and find out some ideas for what i wanted. i would watch videos and just be dazzled by what i saw. then i started asking around trying to find out anyone that even knew anyone that would tattoo a minor. because i was not a legal adult this mission would pretty much be impossible. i had one person say they would give me a tattoo and to meet them at a certain location. but i got stood up. when finally i met my tattoo artist i was so afraid to get a tattoo and afraid i was going to get in trouble for it. but when i got it and it didn't hurt at all i learned i have i high pain tolerance level. after that moment tattoos became addicting to me. i continued to get them and always will. even though being a minor and all i had to hide my tattoos but now that i have became legal age i can get tattoos i dont have to hide. i can go to shops but i'm not going to because there to expensive. (now i only go to shops lol) it also made me want them so much to rebel against everyone that said i shouldn't and couldn't get any until i turned eighteen. but i proved them all wrong and love that excitement it gives me.

i never really felt pretty or anything like that until i got tattoos and then all of a sudden i was being noticed and complimented on. tattoos have became a nice conversation start. it also makes me feel and look older. what i hated the most was the ignorant people asking if my tattoos were real. i knew all of these factors would come in when i got a tattoo and that's why i really wanted to get one. when i picture myself when i'm older i see me covered in tattoos and piercings with perfect hair and i feel like i will look hot because the confidence tattoos give. there's so many reasons why i got into tattoos and now that i'm in they got me hooked.

THE REASON BEHIND MY TATTOOS

i believe that every tattoo someone gets should have meaning behind it. i hate when people get a tattoo just because they think its cool or just to say they have a tattoo. people should really think about the things they get because you may think its a good idea right now, but will you think its a good idea six months from now or a year from now, do you really want it for the rest of your life? what i cannot stand is when people see a tattoo they like and get the exact one. its like be original you guys dont get the same exact thing someone else has, sure people get matching tattoos to symbolize something and that's alright but copying something from the internet and printing it and getting the exact same thing is horrible. i also dont believe people should get other peoples names tattooed unless they are related to you like your kids, because things can always change but your kid will always be your kid. (or if a person has passed away you can totally get theirs) all of mine has meaning and you may not agree or like it but its not your body so you have no say in it. you may call me dumb or ignorant but i'm happy with what i have and deeply think about all the tattoos i want before actually getting them.

the very first tattoo i got was the one on my lower back. yes technically a tramp stamp but i dont care. it looks like a 5 year old drew it, well guess what, that's because its the exact drawing i drew when i was five. nobody else will ever have the exact one because i personally drew it and thought of it all by myself. the second tattoo i got was my favorite quote it reads "never let the fear of stricking out keep you from playing the game" yes sticking is spelled wrong, but its like that on purpose. because that's is how i quoted it and it shows i'm not afraid to play the game. you may think i'm lying and like i said i dont care, the only person it matters to is me. the third one i got is the one on my chest, you guys may count it as two tattoos but i count it as one. i designed it myself even though you guys claim to have seen it before on everyone else, well there's is different. mine represents my middle school mascot the quasar, but with a little edge to it because that's what my experience there was like. underneath the stars i plan on getting {if i haven't already by this time} a ribbon with the words written in it saying "forever" because honestly nothing last forever everything dies eventually or breaks, except with tattoos they stay with you as long as you are. so by putting in forever it represents my love for tattoos. then there is a tattoo across my back that reads "smile" with a pair of lips as the dot of the eye. i originally got it so i will be able to bitch at people for smiling at me and be like 'why the fuck you smiling at me get that smile off your face' or something like that, but now i guess it means i want people to smile when they see me, or my tattoo and i get a lot of compliments on it, people talk to me because of that tattoo in particular. it really gets me noticed and stands out and people recognize me from behind because of it, nobody else is dumb enough to get it. lol. the next two i got at the same time. of of them really needs to be redone, its supposed to be the "stroop effect" which is where words read a color but the color they are written is a different color. it represents my speech impediment with the letter "R" and especially words with "OR" in them. then the one below that on my side is of claw marks with zebra print in them, yes you guys might think 'been there done that' but mine have five lines, one for each finger instead of the usual four that everyone else gets, and why zebra you ask, because they are always trying to figure themselves out, are they white with black stripes or black with white stripes? ('Madagascar' reference, plus i love horses 'racing stripes' reference) well that's how i feel i'm always trying to figure myself out. and why claw marks you ask? well my friend the day before i got it had her first baby and it represents stretch marks that hopefully one day i will get to have a kid and i will get stretch marks. weird dream right. (i did in fact get lots of stretch marks) then there are my most recent tattoos. (at that time) i got love with a question mark on my wrist because what is love? how do we really know were in love? does love really exist? is there that one person out there for all of us? then there's "love lost" written on my knuckles. i got that because i have lost a love. a few years ago the love of my life died in my arms on fourth of July. i cried for months, never been the same. i believe people loose loves every day, not just from people passing on but because of their stupid actions they do without thinking about, that makes people lose the one they love. on my lower left arm is the blue heart not filled in with wings. represents so much, at first i wanted something to cover up my birthmark i have there, but if you tattoo over that it could cause cancer so i got something to surround it and show i'm not ashamed of it. then its hallow heart because i know i'm shallow and my heart will always be empty and never really filled in. my tattoo has wings on it to represent love in the heavens or whatever happens after you die, to send my love to those i loved that have died. its blue because i don't want it to be depressing i want it to have life and be joyful for what is to come. then i got more quotes on my legs. one that reads "you never know what you have until its gone" because people take advantage of people and things and dont appreciate anything until its to late and they dont have it anymore. i got it to remind myself that i should appreciate everything i have and not dwell on the things i dont. the next quote is "regret nothing live everything like there's no tomorrow" and you really should, i honestly don't regret anything in my life because you cant change the past only the future and you should live like there's no tomorrow because anything can happen and tomorrow might not. you should look back at life and say maybe i shouldn't of done that instead of saying i wish i did do that. then the usual common, popular right now but not might be later, saying i have of "keep calm and love me" i got it because people argue to much and get mad over nothing and i can just look at it and be like calm down if you loved me you would just not try to argue and enjoy spending time with me. shouldn't waste the time people get with each other. then there's the rainbow on my shoulder, it represents colors and the light at the end of the tunnel and i thought it was cool my shoulder being the curve in the rainbow and how at the end of a rainbow is the pot of gold and i like to think of myself as the pot of gold. then on my hip is the word "bitch" because i know i'm a straight up bitch, and i can be really difficult to be around, but i'm totally worth it. if anyone got close enough to really get to know me, they would realize how great i really am and that sometimes i put on an act to survive. on the back of my neck i have 5-5-95 written in tribal numbers because its my date of birth and its tribal because i dont know where i came from all i know is i'm white and i would love to someday be able to learn where i come from and what race/ethnicity i am besides just white.

UPDATE

sense writing the project i have gotten more ill add to now. these are probably out of order so dont worry about that. one is my red and black checkered on my arm, its my favorite colors and i love playing checkers. then i have the fairies on my arm kissing, in black, wearing sexy lingerie, cause fairies are adorable and i'm bisexual so i wanted two women kissing. on my hands i got molecules. the left is my virus (herpes) the right is the medicine (acyclovir) punching the virus. because i'm not ashamed of it i'm not hiding it like a lot of people do, which isn't right that's how people get it. not like its a bad thing, its no big deal, its not life threatening, most people have it so just stop making it into jokes. then on my lower knuckles on my left hand i had added "gain" because of my love lost one its also love gain, you may loose loves all the time but you also gain some so i needed to add to it. then i got a mermaid on my side/ ribs holding a seahorse with my favorite flower, in color, some people think its Ariel, but its me, brown hair, i love water and seahorses and even though i know people that have died from water so it kinda scares me i still love it. then i have a bow and arrow with flowers, i love shooting bow and arrow, my grandpa loves to hunt and i was to young for a gun so i did archery, it took a long time until i was able to pull the string back, but once i could i was great at it! better then my brother, i still wasn't ever allowed to hunt because i'm a girl and that pissed me off hence the flowers, because girls can hunt! another tattoo i have is a big elephant and a small elephant holding trunks with a heart balloon, it was a flash sale and i kept eyeballing it when going through the designs so others might have it, but i told the artist to shade it differently for me so its slightly different then if anyone else has it, i got it right after having my daughter and while getting it i noticed it matches her diaper bag! which defiantly shows i was meant to get it for her! which brings me to another tattoo is i got my daughters name and birthday and her exact foot/hand print when she was born, that was the best day of my life. i also have a finding nemo sleeve, its one of my top five favorite movies, it was the first movie i saw in theaters and was my first date, which also happened to be with two guys! lol they were best friends and both liked me, this was kindergarten at a year round school and was my favorite, the next year we moved so i then went to a different school where i was bullied so that memory really stuck with me. another one is my tribal turtle that i got on my second trip to Hawaii. i wanted something native to Hawaii so i can always remember it, it was my husbands first trip there and so i got it in purple which is his favorite color. so the tattoo artist found the purple flower and did it exactly like the real flower on the turtle, has some yellow in it which i dont care for yellow but its more realistic that way.

as i'm typing this i have two appointments this month for two more tattoos, i have so many ideas but wont list them until i actually get them. the first appointment is for my thigh, i'm getting the sketch from the titanic, of naked rose. titanic is another of my top five favorite movies, and a Cinderella story which another quote i already talked about is from. the other appointment is for on my lower right leg, evil snow white with her slaves/minion. i always wanted to be a queen and a leader, so it is the only princess i connect with, i never had female friends only guy friends so when i got sent it when asked which Disney princess i was most like i fell in love with the evil snow white and her scary dwarfs on leashes.

thats it for now, ill try to keep updated.