How much thought do you really put into your tattoos?

I have two - one is a daisy on my toe and its in reference to a Girl scout song. I was a girl scout for forever.

The second is a set of paw prints walking up my spine. Im an animal rights girl and vegetarian so this one meant alot to me.



But when I was with my cousin when she was getting her drama masks tattooed on her arms (shes a theater major) some guy came in and wanted the logo from "Monster" energy drink tattooed on his ribs.



So my question is - how much did you think about your tattoo before getting it? What is it and what does it mean?

How much thought do you really put into your tattoos?
I wish I would of thought about them more. I would of designed full sleeves instead of get one here and there and here and there until I had full sleeves. Some of the coolest full sleeves are a well thought piece of art.



My tattoos (50+) don't really have that much meaning. It's probably more of a road map. Got some in different countries, different states, couple at Sturgis, a few at Daytona etc..
Reply:Well I have 4. My zodiac sign is a scorpion so I have that on my back. I am also a practising witch so I have a couple pagan symbols on my ankle and backside and the other tattoo is just a small dragon that I have had a necklace of since I was 11. I think people need to put a lot of thought into this.. I see too many people walking into tat shops going ummmmmm and point at a pic they see on the wall.
Reply:Honey, I hold the record! I started wanting a tat at 18 but did not get it until 2 days before my 33rd b'day.



I have 3 kids. Their initials make up the ankle tat I have (my only one for now). I have the first child's intials intertwined to look like an asian symbol, same for the middle child %26amp; the youngest.



It took several months to finally get the right design but my kids love it as much as I do. They each see their design and talk about their name always being "on Mommy".
Reply:Why does a tatto always have to mean something? Why can't you just get one cuz its cool or it looks good? That's why I got mine...
Reply:I took about 1.5-2 years to design it...my mom designed it actually and I thought of the idea...and then finally, my tattoo artist changed it slightly to make it look better as a tattoo.



In that 1.5-2 years, I took time to learn about tattoos, tattooing and the equipment and such used.



Meaning: Tattoo is a side portrait of my daughter with her Chinese name (her real Chinese name, not one the artist made up). Personal celebration that she came into my husband and my life and a celebration of her. I also have a needle phobia too and was able to get one which also somewhat plays into the significance of getting the tattoo and having a baby.
Reply:I puts LOTS of thought into the little botanical (not cartoonish) daisy tattoo i have on my inner ankle...i wanted something special with meaning, not a frivolous bit of skin graffitti. I wanted a tat for a while, but not really a lot until I was in my late 30's, but could never decide exactly what to get. My mom passed away I was 41...her name was Daisy...hence the tattoo on my ankle. I love it...fyi, my dad's name in Italian means 'sunshine'...when he goes, i'll get a little sun shining its rays down on my daisy. They were very very happily married for 60 years.
Reply:My first is my daughter's name in Farsi, with some ivy on the sides, I got it when I was 19, after thinking about it for a couple years (I had her at 16 yikes!)

Second is a tribal spiral piece on the small of my back that I got when I was 24, i absolutely love it! It represents beauty and individuality to me. I thought about it for at least a year.

My third is a cherry blossom branch on my right shoulder that i got last fall and designed myself, so I'm very proud of it, and it is beautiful. It represents all that cherry blossoms mean.....I didn't think that long about it, maybe 4-6 months.

My latest isn't even a month old, and it isn't finished yet, but its more of a polynesian floral design on my right upper arm. To me it represent strength and love and evolution of myself personally cause i've done a lot of self change in the last year.
Reply:I spent 20 years thinking about my first tattoo. I have to laugh though, Miami Ink has everyone walking around thinking that tattoos all have to have deep significance and meaning. Some do, some don't. Its not a ironclad rule of the secret tattoo society. Its body art...if it also means something great. Several of my tattoos are symbolic and several are not but all are good examples of professionally applied body art.
Reply:I have 15 of them some where easier to decide on then others. My belief is tattoos should either mean something to you or be wicked funny. I have my fathers stripe on my arm he was a chief master Sergent in the air force. I have a Hersey kiss for my grampa easy stuff great deal of meaning. then I have 2 hot pink cat on either side of my stomach with a banner that runs between the 2 that says" my pussy rocks" i thought about that 1 for about 6 month talk about a conversation piece. my hubby gets piss off every where I go I'm showing people my hot pink pussy. hahahahahaha see funny i could go on but i think you get the idea
Reply:Personally I put a lot of thought and time into working with my artist until I had exactly what I wanted. I wasn't afraid to tell her if I was unhappy with the design, or give my opinion of what I wanted different. I think that yes, the tattoo artist puts a certain amount of themselves into a tattoo, but ultimately it is my body that it is going to be on for the rest of my life. I choose to do a Celtic trinity in green, gold, and orange for the Irish flag. (gold and not white b/c I am really pale.) I also waited until I was 30 to get my first one, it's not something I rushed into in my 20's so I didn't get something impersonal or trendy. I am happy with my decision and have no regrets!!
Reply:I have a cross on my leg with my favorite spring flowers of daffodils and irises. Reminds me of an Easter picture. I grew up in a christian family and always wanted a cross. I found one I liked and then picked out the flowers based on my favorite flowers in the spring. I really like tulips, but they just didn't look right with the rest of the design.



Now I am working on one with my daughter's name. I think I know what I want, but want to look just a little bit more!
Reply:If you're smart, you'll put a lot of thought in before you get it. A tattoo should be something meaningful to you that you KNOW will be meaningful to you for the rest of your life. It should also be something unique to you and you alone and represent something significant in your life or representative of what makes you unique as an individual.
Reply:Way too much thought, I only have one because I over analyze my idea and try to determine if I will love that tattoo in that spot for the rest of my life. My one is a four leaf clover with my grandparents names in french above and below it. I love my grandparents more then my own parnets and they have done so much for me, putting me through school right now!! So I got the four leaf clover for my grandpa who came straight from Ireland with his father, and their names are in french because my grandma is french canadian and when I was little I coudn't say thier names so they told me to call them their names in french. I love my tattoo and the next one will mean a lot to me too!!
Reply:I have five tattoos. I thought about each one for months before getting them. I have a nautical star on my belly below and to the left of my navel - it's to remind me that I don't need a compass (an external guide) to find my own way in life. On the right side of my lower back I have two Kanji characters - love, in black, and water, shaded navy to white. I chose these because I'm an aquatic ecologist and avid scuba diver. On the left side of my lower back is a fancy goldfish, with long, floaty fins - I'm a pisces and have always loved the delicacy and personality of aquarium goldfish.



My most recent tattoo is the most symbolic.



My husband and I have been trying to have a baby for the past three years. I've been fighting with my body all this time - losing weight and gaining it back, ingesting a large volume and diverse selection of hormones - hating it for being infertile. I'm tired of that. I wanted to feel at home in my body again. To help that along, I wanted to decorate it. Wheat and pomegranates are ancient symbols of fertility, abundance, and marriage in many cultures. Cherry blossoms are a symbol of ephemeral beauty, joy in nature, and seasonal renewal. So now I have a quarter-sleeve that wraps up to my left shoulder with a ripe, split pomegranate (so you can see the seeds inside), ripe wheat stalks, and cherry blossoms. It's about my fertility journey - patience and being thankful for my family as it is (hubby and I).



My next tattoo will be a parallel shoulder piece on the right side with ferns and dogwood branches. Ferns are ancient organisms, simple and graceful, and represent perseverance and richness of spirit. Dogwood is essentially the southern American version of the Japanese cherry blossom. This side will be about my own personal strength, reminding me that I am who I am whether or not I am able to have a child.
Reply:humm, dunno bout the monster energy guy, but i have 6, my first is a tiger head changing into a dragon head, got it at 16 drew it my self, representing the change in my life. i was a workin man then, (thats when i got my first job) then i got my second at 18, its a lill wolf cub on my calf, i got it cause it was cute and so was i, then my third was my zodiac sign on my wrist (aries) just because, its the only one i regret, then i got a clover on my leg, cause im irish, and needed sum luck, then i got a sun with a aries symbol in it on my back at 20. mainly because it was my birthday. then on my 21st birthday i got a chinese scroll that says never give up on my fore arm, got that because about a month before, i had a very bad day at work were i just wanted to give up and die, but three people told me not to give up, so that is for them.



so overall i put thought into the ones that mean somthing to me, but others are just beacuse. hope that helped
Reply:I only have one, and I put a lot of thought into it. Originally I wanted the agriculture seal from Puerto Rico (it reads: Made In Puerto Rico in Spanish). But I ended up getting a small apple in honor of my profession (I'm a teacher). My sister has 4: the Chinese character for lust, ladybugs, an orchid and a butterfly. They all have a special meaning to her and she thought long and hard before getting them.
Reply:mine means alot to me. I have a flower on my hip for my grandmother. She loved lilacs, so that is what I have. I want my dog's paw print on my ankle...I have an Animal Science degree, am a veg, and love my dogs...so it would mean alot.



Also, I would love to get somehting to commemorate my husband and myself....but I can't think of just the right design, so I am pondering that one still.



I think people with a lot of tattoos tend to gte more without a great deal of thought. I have limited myself to 3, so I want to get them right.
Reply:don't drink and get inked. that's all i'm gonna say. lol
Reply:My first tattoo a butterfly I really did not think about it. I went into the shop with my college roommate and she chickened out and I saw in a book a real cute butterfly and I decided right then that i wanted it. My second Tattoo I thought about what I wanted and where I wanted it. I decided to get a cross on my ankle to celebrate the fact that I finally graduated college and if it wasn't for God's help I do not think I would have ever finished.
Reply:It took me about a year to pick out what I wanted or what i liked. Mine didnt necessarily mean anything to me, I just liked the way it looked, its a ying yang skull. everyone loves it
Reply:hah, i usually just get something that looks cool to me. i love tattoo art so i pretty much just look at something and it might have a meaning it might not.. so who knows. i just go for what might look amazing to me.. i already have one, but i am getting my next ones in a few days ! i am really excited !
Reply:I thought alot before i got mine. I went through a horrible relationship that ended with me in the hospital and because of the stress and anxiety from it i now have a chronic illness. I had to see so many doctors it was horrible. A couple of months after this 2 year ordeal was pretty much over i started thinking about how i wanted something that showed how the only reason i was alive was because of God and how i only made it because he gave me the strength and because my parents helped me through it. My name has celtic origin. One day i found this celtic cross i just loved and i decided i wanted to get it as a tatoo but i didnt want it out in the open for people to see because it was my battle my struggle for my purpose so i found a spot got it there and i see it everyday to remind me how amazing my God is and how i couldnt have made it without him or my parents