"To me tattoos have always represented a time in my life. Maybe I'm not the 16 year old who loves the idea of a sun on my hip anymore but I certainly can appreciate the 16 year old girl I was once before."

Exactly. I think the permanence is kind of refreshing. We all change but most of us like to sweep our old self under the rug and pretend it didn't happen. It's kind of humbling to have that reminder that "oh shit I was stupid/naive/different" too.

the truth is we live in a fast food culture. we want what we want and we want it right fucking now! we care little about consequences. yesterday for breakfast i had a double cheeseburger, fries and a dr. pepper. was i thinking of all the shit i was putting into my body and what it was really doing to me? hell no! it was delicious and held me over til i was done with my work.

some people feel the same way about tattoos. they turn 18 and immediately want to be as cool as other older people they know. for me, i think its awesome. some kid wants to come in and get something thats going to take a few sessions of a few hours each session? thats money in the bank on a design i only have to draw once! and kids got money these days!!!!!!!!! my teenage nephews have hundreds of dollars on them. they are constantly buying new video games (at about $50 a pop), new jordans (i dont even wanna know how much those fuckers cost), and ipods. i dont know where these kids are getting money to get big ass tattoos, but im more than happy to take it in exchange for a cool tattoo. the same way Ronald McDonald is happy to sell me his wonderful fries.

also, the rebel factor will always get more extreme with each generation. kiss and alice cooper were once the scariest shit out there. what do you think the people that thought so were thinking when that fuck marilyn manson came out?

Totally agree! Never got any tattoo removed or even covered, even though i got quite a lot of shitty ones over the years.. But they all make you who you are and show times you went through and make me even lough about some notions I had at times! And one cool thing about tattoos is the commitment it takes! I would even say I don't find people that got loads of shit lasered off or covered very trust worthy! They show already on there skin a bit of flalseness! Exept the gang ones, political shit or ex names of course... But if I see guys full of cover ups or in the middle of laser treatments I'm always suspicious of them.. They might just got all there nazi stuff covered or so.. Ha ha

Well said. There are probably a hundred reasons for treating tattoos like a fashion accessory, but I think a lot of it comes back to the types of people getting tattooed. Because it's much more accessible/acceptable, it seems a lot of folks -- "kids" included -- are making a very conscious decision, "Yes, I will get a tattoo now." Because the culture of tattooing gets thrown around from TV to t-shirts to laptop covers to cell phones to cell phone games, most view it as just another "thing" to be into.

I don't know if it makes sense, but personally, it never felt like a decision I made for myself. I always just assumed I would be tattooed from as far back as I can remember. I covered my hands and arms with marker as a kid and just always thought of myself that way. It's never been as simple as an interest or a hobby, it just feels part of me. And I'd be willing to bet my sad little savings account that the ones getting their tattoos removed before they even turn 21 would have no idea what I'm talking about.

If I won the lottery, I'd be covered. If people lasering off half-sleeves won the lottery, they'd buy more shoes and more expensive clothes so they wouldn't feel like they had to get tattooed. My two cents.

are we talking about completely removing tattoos or lightening up for more effective cover-ups?

because i dont feel one bit bad about zapping some crap i got more than 20 years ago when i was young & dumb. stuff too big and solid and professionally done for a normal cover-up.

why take shit to the grave that i don't like? why should i look at some crap instead of something beautiful for the rest of my life?

i can always reminince about that point in my life when i talk about the crappy tattoo i have underneath the more awesome tattoo that truly suits me better.

just my 2 cents.