Every tattoo has a story?

I have five tattoos (so far, I might get more in the future). Someone once told me, “Getting a tattoo is like getting plastic surgery, you can’t stop yourself from getting more.” I found out that was the case for me. I’m always thinking about what my next tattoo should be. Does every tattoo have its own story? For me, not really. I got my first tattoo when I was 17; the reason why I wanted to get one was because my friend and I had a discussion about getting a tattoo when we were in school; both of us wanted to get a tattoo. I wanted to get a tattoo for the sake of having one. However, I actually got one, but she didn’t.

My first tattoo doesn’t have a significant meaning, I went to a tattoo shop and the tattoo artist designed a tribal one for me; that's it. My friend said it looked like a lizard.

The day after I got my first tattoo, I told my parents about it. I asked my dad and mom to sit on the sofa and showed them my tattoo. My mom got mad and started saying how bad I was (I’ve had my ears pierced, my navel pierced, and my tongue pierced as well). My dad just laughed and said, “ It’s OK if you like it. Do what you want to do, just don't regret it.”

Although tattoos represent an expression of art in American culture, in Chinese culture tattoos carry a negative tone, and signify that the person is bad, in a gang, or just a hoodlum especially for our parents’ generation.

I got my second tattoo when I was 18 and same as the first, it doesn’t have any special meaning. It’s a heart surrounded by thorns with a pair of devil’s wings on it. A year ago, I posted a picture of all my tattoos on Facebook and one of my friends commented saying, “I like the dragon one most.” But I don't have a dragon tattoo. Does it look like a dragon to you?

The third tattoo I got was a 20^th birthday gift to myself. It’s a fairy holding my first name in her hand. The tattoo is on the left side of my belly; I like it a lot, but it became bigger since I’ve gained 40 pounds over the years.

My fourth tattoo carries the most meaning for me; it’s because my ex-boyfriend and I have the same tattoos. We decided to get them together. It’s the first letters of our names, Y and T. Have you ever heard that couple break up after they get tattoos together? Well, my boyfriend and I broke up two months after we got the tattoos. I thought it was just a myth in Chinese culture, but my sister told me a tattoo artist in Texas told her the same thing when she got her tattoo there. Therefore, if you want to break up with your boyfriend/girlfriend, but don’t have a good reason, just get a tattoo together. (Just kidding).

I love the design and the shape of skulls in almost everything, and I especially like the different designs of sugar skulls. So I decided my fifth tattoo would be of a sugar skull. It was my first tattoo I got in the United States. I am still considering to color it in the future.

I haven’t regretted getting these tattoos so far, because every tattoo captures a point of time in my life, but I have to say to those who want to get a tattoo, “Think twice before you make your decision.” because a tattoo will be with you for the rest of your life.