If there is anything that's a constant in life, it's that nothing is a constant. Tattoos have a permanence that is rarely matched by one's character - many people don't seem to realise that.
Now lately I feel like the speed on which trends are born and die, the non-stop over sharing, and that constant itch for "what's next" is really pushing us all to become these kind of formless blobs, scared to show any real "edges." For example:
- Cars all kinda look the same now and are mostly some shade of grey. Same deal with phones and pretty much all tech.
- Buying clothes with bland colors with almost no originality with the expectation that it will probably be in the bin the next season.
- The whole clean girl aesthetic on putting in a ton of effort to look like you put in zero effort.
- And don't get me started on how sad beige parenting is not a joke
You only live once, there's no scoreboard at the end. Just do what you want with your life. More often than you'd probably like to admit, nobody really cares that much anyway.
I didn't change later. I had another artist expand the design about ten years ago. And while it had some meaning when I got the first round, I've realized over time that it means a whole lot more to me as I've learned more about myself.
But when someone asks me what it means, I just shrug it off. I'm not sharing that kind of thing with people.
> Do you disagree with that?
100%. It's all about the entire package, of which color is only part. Aesthetics are always subjective, but, for example, the Ioniq I mentioned definitely (subjective :P) looks best in gray.
Not everything needs a deep meaning.
I'm old enough to be a grandpa for many of the people here, I've got a lot of scars, and none of those scars are from going to a scar store, getting out my wallet, and saying, "hey! give me a cool scar, scar artist!".
The scars I have on my body are from moments in my life where everything went wildly fucking wrong. If you want that in your life, something is wrong with you, same as it was for me, and I don't what to tell you other than you don't have to pay money for it. You can get scar tissue for free.
One fellow I was very close with, had served in Vietnam, and had significant pieces of shrapnel/flak embedded in his skull that they couldn't pick out. He sometimes had minor memory lapses and PTSD bad enough to require sleep medication, every night.
Another fellow was doing well and had a construction job still, but noticeable scarring all along his forearms. And he never made a big deal about it or anything, until once we were all gathered for a meal, and our pastor pointed out that this fellow had run back into a burning building to rescue someone and his arms were set on fire from that incident, and he sustained significant damage to them, but in the end it was indeed an act of heroism and unselfish bravery to save another human being.
It was very humbling to be given this new perspective on guys whom I barely knew. There is definitely a story behind every scar on someone's body. Some of those stories may be quite eye-opening!
The Monkey's Paw: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=4S8rtxPmHTA&si=v607QuxDK11...
People are simply less unique nowadays, full stop.
It also helps that my tattoos are wholly original, i.e. not based on some trend, and that I chose the subject matter specifically because I didn’t think it was possible to hate it later on (a dinosaur and a 4d hypercube). Like, am I ever going to hate dinosaurs? I’ve loved them for 40ish years already.
It hurts a ton. It bleeds a lot
It wasn't intolerable pain, but it's not "not that bad" either
Obviously circumstances may change if the tattoo is offensive.
(*statistically a drug addict, criminal or prostitute)
I knew another man of that generation with a number tattooed on his wrist. He never talked about it.
They symbolize a past life to me basically, and that brings meaning and unique introspection to me in a way.
For the vast majority of people who haven’t suffered some kind of brain damage, life is append only and the current state is completely dependent on the history. You have markers of your past good and bad decisions all over you.
If when I get older and those memories mean less to me, the tattoos will become markers of who I was and what was once important to me. I could see myself getting some of them removed, but I don't think it's likely.
Because of the way my brain is, it's difficult for me to stay attached to the past. Having permanent marks on my body makes the past unforgettable, inescapable. I like to think it's made an improvement on the person I've become, but of course it's impossible to know.