I've learned one thing lately----and it's DON'T ask people about their opinions about tattoos before you get them. Don't ask them IF you should get one, don't ask them about placement, don't ask them if they like the design, if they think you'll regret it. Just make the damn appointment and get the damn tattoo, already (that is of course, if you're into it)! *With that being said, Auntie Nicole, I appreciate your opinions about the skull tattoos very much :)
So, with that being said, I'm in the process of reclaiming my leg. Ever since I was born I've had vitiligo, a skin condition that results in the absence of pigment, from my hip to my ankle on my right leg. It's not severe, but it looks mottled and uneven, and when I jump in the ocean or get cold, the whiteness becomes super-white and the rest turns dark purple. It shows up in pictures, and it's always been a part of me. Coupled with some insane bow-leggedness, I've got some funky ass legs. I can't say that I have a lot of baggage about it, but recently I started thinking about working on a "half-sleeve" on one of my thighs. And in my head, I immediately thought, "Well, guess I only have one leg to work with...gotta go with my left". But the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. Why discount a whole part of my body just because it wasn't "perfect"? So almost on a whim (I did so some research first, I'm not that cray cray), I made a tattoo appointment, and sat my butt down and got my vitiligoed-right-leg tattooed. I decided to reclaim it. It's mine, it's beautiful, it's the way that I am. And it's going to look even more awesome covered in really beautiful things that I like. The end.
The coolest part of my first leg tattoo experience was when I told my tattoo artist about it. And he shared a story about vitiligo and how he thinks that the white spots are beautiful. It's his story to tell so I won't share it here, but it solidified my decision that I was on the right path. The white spots are beautiful. So are the dark ones. And the spaces in between are ours to fill up the way we want. We talked about not waiting and not worrying, not asking for permission or wondering what other people think. I felt simultaneously really really old, and like I was just beginning something amazing.
Tattoos or no-tattoos, the lesson here is simple-----you want to do something, do it. Nobody is going to make it happen for you. You don't like something about yourself? Reframe it, flip it, look at it a different way. Color it beautiful and make it yours. xoxo
