i can't believe i'm writing this ... ppl w/ tattoos

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Replies

  • chrisy0316
    chrisy0316 Posts: 18
    My first, Winnie the Pooh, because of the quote “Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." symbolizing the struggle to make the decision to give my daughter up for adoption. She's 19 today and amazing. The second, Tigger for my middle daughter and the third, Eeyore for my son, just to continue the theme. Later I picked out 8 different Woodstock poses, all for different members of the family. But my latest ones were just b/c I liked the way they looked!
    Tattoos mean whatever they mean to who has them, I just love the fact that now when I wear shorts and little kids see Winnie the Pooh they squeal and laugh and shout "Mommy look! That lady has "Pooh" on her leg!"
  • Kityngirl
    Kityngirl Posts: 14,304 Member
    I have two that mean something and one that is just a doodle that I drew on a piece of paper at work. That was my first one, and it does incorporate the sign of Leo, but I like to just say it's a doodle because I kinda like the let down look on peoples faces when they ask what it is.

    My next piece is just something pretty that I'm drawing, and when I fill out my phoenix to bring it down to a half sleeve it will just be pretty designs to fill it out.

    I'm not all hellbent on needing deep meaningful tattoos, just as I'm not against getting something pretty just to get it.
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,870 Member
    Mine do mean something - a kanji for special/unique and one for perseverance - but I see other people's tattoos that are just cool to look at and that's great for them.
  • pucenavel
    pucenavel Posts: 972 Member
    My lack of tatoos means I have nothing to say....
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    I Have 35 tattoos and not all of them have meaning, Like the skull in my ear. . . I just love skulls! and potty mouth on the inside of my lip. . . well I'm a F**ken potty mouth :)

    The ear skull sounds really cool, I'd like to see that! I only have one tat, which I just got because I liked it and wanted one, it was a spur of the moment thing but the story of that night sort of gives it some meaning. I plan to get some text around my wrist and I guess that will have meaning as I can't just pick random text! ;)
  • SarLem81
    SarLem81 Posts: 115 Member
    I have three tattoos. Another two planned. One is a tiger/butterfly (tiger fur extends to the shape of a butterfly), which has no real meaning but I thought about it for 10 years before I got it so I figured I wouldn't regret it later. I have the words "I am" which is part of a quote from Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar (has many meanings to me). Finally, I have my mom's portrait on the back of my left shoulder so that she literally has my back and is close to my heart at all times. I'll eventually get my dad's portrait on the back of my right shoulder, but he hates tattoos so I'll wait until he passes to get it done. I also want to get a mimosa tree growing out of a book because my love of books grew literally out of a love of climbing the tree in my front yard as a kid and reading for hours in the highest branches I could reach. I don't do anything spontaneously, so I know I will not regret it later. I think that is the key to a good tattoo "meaning." It doesn't necessarily have to mean something but it shouldn't be some spontaneous thing that you'll hate 10, 20, 30 years down the road.
  • cantjustcant
    cantjustcant Posts: 1,027 Member
    I have 6 and they may not have deep meanings to the outsider they mean something to me. my first I won in a pool game and it is the artwork I had on my dart case that I drew (rose with my name in the stem). My second was the mandatory tramp stamp. The third was bought for by my regular customers when the Chargers returned to the play offs around 2005 (it's a heart with a chargers lightning bolt through it with a banner that says Chargers) Then I added more to my tramp stamp because it was too small for how fat my *kitten* was at the time. Then I started losing weight. When I stuck with it I decided I would finally get my Michigan M tat. Then I quit smoking. When I quit smoking I wrote out my all time favorite inspiration quote by Bo Schembechler "THOSE WHO STAY WILL BE CHAMPIONS" So I put the Michigan M above my San Diego Chargers tat near my ankle and the quote winds between the two tats...I will be getting more. I know I want a goal weight tat but haven't decided what yet.
  • Amer1can
    Amer1can Posts: 5 Member
    Oh...and one last thing. My last one will be of narwhals and bacon...and it will be so full of awesomeness that world peace will spontaneously erupt all over the world.

    Top that in symbolism.
    ^^This^^. I get one of my filled in and finished wednesday. Super stoked. Yeah, my tattoos mean something. But I wouldnt get something unless I thought it looked cool. Cause ultimately, I think I am cool, so I should think that I look cool too, or something like that ha.
  • rmh84
    rmh84 Posts: 28
    I <3 you. Seriously.

    My first was because i was 19 and wanted a tat. It's a small heart and a couple flowers to the left of the Tramp Stamp area.

    The second is a Celtic knot horse in between my shoulderblades. I found the graphic online and just thought it looked awesome, so after a year of thinking about it I got the tat.

    The third is a horseshoe. I ride horses. Thus, horseshoe. Also, my sister was going for her first tat so we figured we'd do it together. Down the road, the horseshoe might just get 4 empty stars under it. This actually means something - it means I can get them filled in when I reach the level of riding competition symbolized by the stars.

    No deep meaning to any of these. I am considering my family coat of arms. No real deep meaning there either, I just like it.

    For me, I find portraits a little creepy - but to each their own.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    The design itself pretty much always means something to me, but that's just me. I'm not a purist about it. I just don't have enough money to just get willy nilly ink.
  • robyng1986
    robyng1986 Posts: 139 Member
    lol! love this thread because i have the same prob. i have 2 tats... 1 biggish 1 of a butterfly- i originally wanted a dragon fly because something happened with a dragonfly that reminded me of my deceased grandfather and since then i loved them but my then BF and the tattoo artist detested the idea so i went with the butterfly. sigh. and now i find it's too too big. ah well

    the next was simply because i wanted 1 and i thought it was pretty. now i think i should have put a little more thought into it. lol
  • puppy1002
    puppy1002 Posts: 154 Member
    I have 3 total and only 1 has real meaning, 1 is just pretty and I didn't have to pay the other I got because I wanted one.
  • HJCsDaddy
    HJCsDaddy Posts: 419 Member
    They all have meaning... I like them and can give two ****s about what others think, thats the only meaning, except for my daughter's name on my arm of course.
  • Bree5280
    Bree5280 Posts: 18
    I almost feel like I should have an epic story for my half sleve or my mustash on my finger but I don't I just think snow flakes are pretty and my friends and I had a brilliant idea and all for of us for finger tatoos
  • Lainn
    Lainn Posts: 281 Member
    Well if its on your body it kinda means something one way or the other. It could mean "I thought it was pretty." or "I lost a bet." or "It was a one night stand." or "I did it to piss off my parents." or "It was wicked awesome." or "I saw it I liked it...need I say more?"

    The meaning might not be meaningful, but it means what it means.
  • sunspotalli
    sunspotalli Posts: 46 Member
    I have one tat that i only recently got and i was just drawn to it i looked at tons of stuff and i kept coming back to it I thought it was pretty and it meant something to me doesn't mean it's what the artist had in mind when he came up with it but the meaning it has for me is for me and since it's on my body it's all good . I want a few more that will have a specific "meaning" I guess but I have at least one in mind already that means nothing other than it's cool lol my husband has one of his favorite band why b/c that's what he wanted. I say it is your body and get what makes you happy! Man they are addictive though i can't wait to get my next one.
  • princessdracos
    princessdracos Posts: 125 Member
    I have a dragon tattooed on my arm. It means "I like dragons." If that answer doesn't satisfy you, that's your problem, not mine.

    I'm going to change this a bit and steal it! I always get asked about the tattoo on my wrist. Chances are, if you're 80 then you haven't heard of A Perfect Circle, so my answer will mean nothing to you. Therefore, my new response to, "What does your tattoo mean?" will be, "It means I like tattoos," delivered in a perfect deadpan voice :laugh:
  • La_Amazona
    La_Amazona Posts: 4,855 Member
    yes, all my ink means something. I only have 3 and am about to get my 4th one...

    for ME, i want all my ink to "mean" something. i wouldn't get a tattoo just because.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    Everyone has a different opinion....Personally I have not.....and will not get a tattoo for the following three reasons....

    #1 - It's not going to look very good when you are 60
    #2 - It's really hard to tell your kids not to get them when you have them
    #3 - Unless they are in very inconspicuous places they can definitely affect your professional career.

    That said I have a friend who completed a triathalon and got the triathalon symbol tattooed on himself.....because this was a major accomplishment in his life.....I thought this was awesome and completely get why he would do it.
  • Lainn
    Lainn Posts: 281 Member
    Everyone has a different opinion....Personally I have not.....and will not get a tattoo for the following three reasons....

    #1 - It's not going to look very good when you are 60
    #2 - It's really hard to tell your kids not to get them when you have them
    #3 - Unless they are in very inconspicuous places they can definitely affect your professional career.

    That said I have a friend who completed a triathalon and got the triathalon symbol tattooed on himself.....because this was a major accomplishment in his life.....I thought this was awesome and completely get why he would do it.
    Why would you tell your kids not to get them?
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    Read # 1 and #3 again. Those are the reasons. Particularly #3.
    Everyone has a different opinion....Personally I have not.....and will not get a tattoo for the following three reasons....

    #1 - It's not going to look very good when you are 60
    #2 - It's really hard to tell your kids not to get them when you have them
    #3 - Unless they are in very inconspicuous places they can definitely affect your professional career.

    That said I have a friend who completed a triathalon and got the triathalon symbol tattooed on himself.....because this was a major accomplishment in his life.....I thought this was awesome and completely get why he would do it.
    Why would you tell your kids not to get them?
  • ToEKnee213
    ToEKnee213 Posts: 1,031 Member
    Some of mine do, some I just liked and wanted to be able to see them anytime I wanted.

    I love when people ask why :smile:
  • agentscully514
    agentscully514 Posts: 616 Member
    because it's permanent and you can't take it back.

    I LOVE ink. I decided I would only get a tat if I knew exactly what I wanted, and I knew I couldn't live without it. So far it's been nothing, but it could happen tomorrow.
  • TK266
    TK266 Posts: 3,638 Member
    My first one was based on a nickname I acquired in collage, so light weigh meaning but nothing too deep.

    My second one is, in Kanji, the translation someone close who passed away .... much more meaning.

    I never ask some one with ink what it mean, that is a little rude and personnel. If they are really good or really bad I ask were they got it done, as a guide and warning for where to go and get my next one. (averaging about 1 a decade since the first one :laugh: )
  • Shannonbayer
    Shannonbayer Posts: 78 Member
    Mine do, but only because I know that I'm too fickle to just "like it" and have that be okay years from now.

    My first one was daisies because my mom carried daisies when she and my father got married. My second one was a combination of the symbols of the saints my sons were named after.
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  • _Bob_
    _Bob_ Posts: 1,487 Member
    My real question is ... those WITH tattoos - does all of your ink MEAN something?

    Yes, and they're cool too ;)

    I have designed several that I will get because I like the way they look. and yeah I can put meaning behind them. an example of this would be the raptor looking dragon on my arm. I drew it based on a fight between patients on the criminal ward at the mental hospital that I worked at. but after I put it on paper my first thought was "this would make a cool tattoo" (yeah I just quoted myself :p)

    so some are both cool and have meaning, but I am going to get some that are just cool and have no real meaning.
  • Bevigal
    Bevigal Posts: 66 Member
    Ink is a good artistic impression of who you are. Be proud of your tats!
  • grrrlface
    grrrlface Posts: 1,204 Member
    Mine don't mean anything, I like them because they look pretty! :-)

    I have a pocket watch on my arm and people always ask if it's a certain time that's significant to me. I usually answer 'no, I just like pocket watches.' :-)

    No one asks about my owl in a teapot, it's pretty obvious that one's just for show! (I like owls and teapots, if you were wondering! ;-) )
  • offthedeependay
    offthedeependay Posts: 435 Member
    some of my ink has meaning but some also I just like,my sleeves are all done by one guy and done in one month there is a theme,ocean,water,fishing,because that is my life but my arms were done free hand and I told my artist basically what i wanted and he did his thing.my kids names on me mean something to me since i dont get to see them ,I can have them with me forever on my skin..
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