Getting My First Tattoo

And why I waited until I was 35 to do it.

Photo by benjamin lehman on Unsplash

I have always loved tattoos. They are beautiful expressions of individuality. People can get whatever they want emblazoned on to their skin for the whole world to see.

So why did I wait until I was 35 to get one?

I have many reasons for waiting, some are super personal others are just kind of silly. In this article I hope to delve into all of them.

1. I am LDS and getting a tattoo is super taboo in our culture. My first and foremost reason for putting off getting a tattoo until the ripe old age of 35 is this. I have always been a “good little Mormon girl” doing exactly as the prophets and apostles have advised us. Until I realized that “advice” really is all that the Prophet and his Apostles can give. Advice is an interesting thing. It is something you can take or leave. Getting a tattoo has nothing to do with my own personal “worthiness.” It has nothing to do with rebellion. It has to do with my love of tattoos and the fact that I have always wanted one.
2. I wanted to get something meaningful to me, and it has taken a while to find that. I did not take getting a tattoo lightly. I have thought about what I might want to get for a long time. I knew I wanted it to symbolize something important to me. I didn’t just want a flash piece…