Tattoo

I've been wanting to get a tattoo for awhile now. I've put a lot of time and thought into it because I've seen too many tattoos that look fucking retarded.

I had a friend that called me out of the blue one time, to see if I'd take her to get a tattoo. We'd kind of grown apart lately, she always seemed to have a new boyfriend she was caught up in. She'd taken a pretty strong pain killer and wasn't sure how it would effect her driving so she asked if I'd do the driving. Why would you get a tattoo if you were so scared of getting it you had to take medication? But I agreed and we went. On my way over to her place I was thinking about how she'd never really said anything about wanting a tattoo before... I hadn't hung out with her a lot lately, but she didn't really seem like the type to get tatted up. So I pick her up and drive out to the tattoo shop... that she has never been to before... to get tattooed by an artist she's never met. WOW. You're going to permanently put something on your body based on a quote you got over the phone, and not the artist's actual work. I was appalled. And, to top it off, either this shop, or one with the same name (same owner) had recently given someone Hepatitis from getting either a tattoo or piercing from them. SKETCHY.

So we're at the shop and we're waiting for the tattooist to draw up her tattoo and I'm still trying to figure out why she is getting one, when in walks her (what I call) 'boyfriend of the week.' Absolutely covered in tattoos and I just cringe. She is getting a tattoo to impressed her new boyfriend who she literally, has been dating for a week. GAAAAHHHH HOW CAN YOU DO THIS? IT'S PERMANENT. THE BF WILL NOT BE! Thank God she was getting it on her side where it is easy to hide other wise I'm not sure I would have been able to let here get it. So before she even starts to get tattooed, bf of the week has to take off to go to a party. The whole situation is almost comical at this point. I almost want to cry for this girl too because knowing her track record, this relationship will not last. So she finishes getting her tattoo and I drive her home, vowing to myself over and over that:

1. I will never get a tattoo for a guy. Unless I'm married to him. I don't want something permanently on me reminding me of a failed relationship.
2. I will take the time to find an artist that can do an amazing job on my tattoo, and I will pay the higher price for it because it will be on me permanently.
3. I will take my time thinking about a tattoo, and how it will effect me later in life. No spur the moment tattoos. Just something that represents a part of me that I will always like.