My Supervisor was arranging some books on the shelf when I happened to enter the room. She smiled at me and asked me to pass her the books that were lying on the table. As I handed her the books, she suddenly glanced at my wrist and exclaimed, "Wow! Is that a permanent tattoo?"
I nodded my head to indicate a 'yes'.
"Oh!" she said. "You don't seem to be the kind of person who would get herself inked...Was this long ago?"
I was a little annoyed by her caustic remark so I merely shrugged and replied, "Not too long ago...I like tattoos. I, actually, have more than one."
Before she could ask me further questions, I excused myself saying that I have some work to do and I would talk to her later.
Even though my Supervisor was not the first person who had asked me these kind of questions, I must admit that I was quite flustered after this brief incident. In the past, I have experienced people labelling me as 'rebellious' and a 'wild child' merely on account of the fact that I have tattoos. There are some people who do not openly express their disapproval but ask me questions like, "What will happen when you get bored of it later?" or "Didn't it hurt? Why would you go through so much trouble for that?" It surprises me that most of the time, I find myself getting amused at such questions instead of getting irritated. .
I still remember the day when I got myself inked for the first time. It was three years ago in the month of May, 2009. I had spent almost an entire evening with the tattoo-artist finalizing a design with two of my friends. The next day, I went and got myself inked. It's been more than three years since and today, I have four tattoos on my body and I am open to getting a few more if I want.
Many people do not see the sense in getting tattoos but to me, each tattoo of mine means something. I have the symbol of my zodiac sign - Libra - tattooed on the inner wrist of my right hand. Libra is represented by the scales and Librans are believed to be very balanced individuals. I have tweaked the symbol a little bit to define myself in a better manner. I always believe that I am someone constantly striving for balance but there are times when I feel that I tend to get biased instead of weighing both sides from a neutral standpoint.
Hence, my tattoo is a symbol of scales which are not balanced but tipping to one side more than the other.
I have a star tattooed on my body. It is a symbol of how special and unique I am as a person. It also reminds me that at no point of time in life must I get complacent because every time I should aim to reach for the stars! The star is blue because that happens to be my favourite colour!
I have a butterfly tattoo on my left arm. The butterfly, according to me, symbolizes change. The egg that hatches into a caterpillar; grows into a pupae; and then, finally, metamorphoses, into a butterfly is a beautiful miracle, in my opinion. The butterfly tattoo on my arm reminds me that in the course of my life, there are going to be a lot of changes. The tattoo is a reminder that change is inevitable and even if things appear to be horrible at any particular moment, it does not matter because that horrid moment, too, shall pass.
Finally, on my leg, I have a fairy tattooed. The reason for getting a tattoo on my leg was more for beautification purpose than any other - I had burnt that area of my skin which had resulted in a rather ugly white patch. I had foregone all attire that displayed by legs for almost five years. The reason for choosing the design of a fairy was to remind me that life is magical and no matter how old one grows, one should always continue to believe in the power of imagination and fantasy. For five years, I had covered my legs with full-length jeans and leggings. Today, I flaunt my legs with pride over capris and knee-length skirts. Yes, there was a time when I had body image issues - today, I may not have overcome them all but this tattoo has given me the strength to let go of some of them. Today, I feel beautiful not just from the inside but from my outer appearance as well.
I know that there are some people who completely detest the idea of a tattoo. While everyone is entitled to have an opinion, I think getting a tattoo is just a matter of trusting yourself and understanding that while there will be changes ahead, it is alright to make some moments of your life permanent and forever etch it on your body...
I nodded my head to indicate a 'yes'.
"Oh!" she said. "You don't seem to be the kind of person who would get herself inked...Was this long ago?"
I was a little annoyed by her caustic remark so I merely shrugged and replied, "Not too long ago...I like tattoos. I, actually, have more than one."
Before she could ask me further questions, I excused myself saying that I have some work to do and I would talk to her later.
Even though my Supervisor was not the first person who had asked me these kind of questions, I must admit that I was quite flustered after this brief incident. In the past, I have experienced people labelling me as 'rebellious' and a 'wild child' merely on account of the fact that I have tattoos. There are some people who do not openly express their disapproval but ask me questions like, "What will happen when you get bored of it later?" or "Didn't it hurt? Why would you go through so much trouble for that?" It surprises me that most of the time, I find myself getting amused at such questions instead of getting irritated. .
I still remember the day when I got myself inked for the first time. It was three years ago in the month of May, 2009. I had spent almost an entire evening with the tattoo-artist finalizing a design with two of my friends. The next day, I went and got myself inked. It's been more than three years since and today, I have four tattoos on my body and I am open to getting a few more if I want.
Hence, my tattoo is a symbol of scales which are not balanced but tipping to one side more than the other.
I have a butterfly tattoo on my left arm. The butterfly, according to me, symbolizes change. The egg that hatches into a caterpillar; grows into a pupae; and then, finally, metamorphoses, into a butterfly is a beautiful miracle, in my opinion. The butterfly tattoo on my arm reminds me that in the course of my life, there are going to be a lot of changes. The tattoo is a reminder that change is inevitable and even if things appear to be horrible at any particular moment, it does not matter because that horrid moment, too, shall pass.
I know that there are some people who completely detest the idea of a tattoo. While everyone is entitled to have an opinion, I think getting a tattoo is just a matter of trusting yourself and understanding that while there will be changes ahead, it is alright to make some moments of your life permanent and forever etch it on your body...
