Hello there, wholesome reader! I'm here for another once-in-a-lifetime experience and I'm sharing it with you.
Adding to the list of my firsts, today I am going to share with you my first ever tattoo experience! It sure was nerve-wracking but if you'd ask me if I regretted it, continue reading and you'll find my answer. 😉
In the Philippines, there is still the stigma for people who have tattoos. Most of the time, they are viewed as indecent and dirty. Inking your skin automatically makes you fall under the category of "bad people", as if a person's physical appearance is the basis for such judgment.
Looking back at history, skin markings have significant meanings to different tribes. Contrary to how society views it today, tattoos in the earlier times signified bravery, victory, and nobility. The more you had markings on your skin, the more you were valued and patronized by the people.
As I did my research on how tattoos were used in ancient times, I discovered that:
In other cultures, tattoos were used to mark individuals as belonging to a specific group of people. Ancient Greeks and Romans often used tattooing to mark someone as either a criminal or part of a specific religious order or cult. | Source
In the modern era, tattoos have become a way of expressing one's self. Some tattoos bear meanings, some represent important events, people, or things. There are also people who get tattoos just for fun or for aesthetic purposes.
My Tattoo Experience
Earlier this year, I and one of my closest friend agreed to get our first tattoos some time between our birthdays. My birthday was on June 2nd and hers was on July 11th, so we decided to do it on July 9th. My sister also joined us. Because of our excitement, we booked at Infamous Ink a month before our appointment date.
Came July 9th – the day we've been looking forward to. We arrived at the shop at around 10 A.M. since that was also our appointment time. The shop was small, only allowing two people to get tattooed at the same time but enough to accommodate three to five people on queue.
As brave as she has always been, my sister volunteered to be the first one to get her skin inked. Then, my friend went next.
And finally, it was my turn. I decided to go last among us three because I was really very nervous, like who wouldn't be? If I were to rate the pain from this experience, I'd say 6 out of 10, having 1 as the least and 10 as the most painful.
The artist assigned to us was Sir Drei. He was very friendly and accommodating. I also got many insights from our conversation while he drew on my skin.
When he found out that I am into arts too, he never stopped talking about pursuing the thing I love. I really enjoyed our exchanges of thoughts and ideas.
The Dragon in Me
As poetic as I could be, I wanted my first tattoo to be not just an ordinary one. I wanted it to somehow represent me. After almost a year of contemplating, I finally decided which one to permanently ink on my skin.
I chose a dragon tattoo. Initially, I got the inspiration from the TV series Game of Thrones as my favorite character was Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen and their house sigil was a three-headed dragon.
I wasn't that convinced yet at that time so I did more research about dragons. One of the articles I've read described dragons as creatures who can either be your ally or your enemy. I liked that statement and I can relate it to myself; I can either be your greatest friend or your biggest enemy.
I specifically told the artist that the dragon should be facing my heart, thus, my tattoo was drawn on the left side of my chest, close to where the human heart is. I made a metaphor out of it and decided to make it a personal reminder to keep the fire in my heart burning. Although there is no fire in my tattoo, I imagine the dragon spitting out fire straight inside my heart.
Getting a tattoo wasn't an easy decision for me. Before I finally decided to get one, I had to consider a lot of thoughts. My mom wasn't a hundred percent supportive, especially when she knew I was planning to tattoo a dragon on my chest as "it's very unfeminine and inappropriate". There was also a thought of not being able to donate blood as some hospitals wouldn't allow people with tattoos to do so. Nonetheless, I have no regrets at all. As I am an artist myself, I find tattoos as a way of expressing myself and a way of showing my bravery and courage.
What are your thoughts about getting a tattoo? How do you see people inked with tattoos?
Thank you so much for reading my post. I hope you enjoyed one of the things I ticked off my 'firsts' list!
I'll take delight in writing for you again soon.
Love,
Sam ♡
Hello, in case you have not read my intro post, my name is Samantha. You may call me Sam for short. I am from Cebu, a beautiful island in the Philippines. I created this space in an attempt to put all the good things in one place, thus, my blog name 
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