Just got my fifth tattoo and looking for some tattooed friends

[Moreismore]

Hi everyone, I just got my fifth tattoo yesterday kind of spur of the moment, and now I'm having some regrets. That has happened to me with some of my other planned tattoos, so I'm hoping I'll get used to it at some point like I did with those. 

This image shows my two most recent tattoos. (Sorry for my horrible photography skills.) They're both based on the book the Phantom Tollbooth, which I loved as a kid. I originally didn't get the part with the car when I got the telescope a month or so ago. I went back for a touch up yesterday and decided to get it while I was there. It's obviously also upside down when I hold my arm this way, which I'm not thrilled about, but I'm trying to convince myself to like it.

A lot of people in my life don't like tattoos, and none of my friends or family have any, so I think I'm also concerned about the comments I'm going to get. Which is dumb; I'm basically almost 40. But I was hoping that getting to know some of you might make me feel less like of a pariah, which I sort of feel like currently.

Thanks in advance for replying!

[SStu]

Welcome to the nuthouse!

[oboogie]

Quit overthinking it or giving a shit what anyone in your life thinks. Just enjoy your tattoos.

[Moreismore]

Thanks, I think I'll get there. I already feel better about it today than I did yesterday. I'm used to being the black sheep of the (somewhat traditional, Jewish) family, but tattoos are a much more visible representation of that status than my lack of spouse or children. 😂 I think I just need a minute to mentally adjust.

[Moreismore]

So here's my update on day 5. I don't 100% love the tattoo, but I'm 80% ok with it, so that's progress. I've been following my patented process of covering up the tattoo so that I can't see it mixed with forcing myself to look at it so that I get used to it, which somehow helps. I also read about half of this forum and looked at a lot of pictures of laser removal and coverups, which helped me understand that I have lots of options if I never end up fully ok with the tattoo and want to do something about it. It seems like the general consensus is to wait a number of months before doing anything else to a new tattoo, so I'm going to wait until the end of the year before I make any decisions. And hopefully this will be a nonissue by then anyway!

[soderpopzzz]

do you not like because of what others might think? or something else? every tattoo will look sideways or upside down when your arm is up or bent

[Moreismore]

On 7/10/2021 at 12:42 PM, soderpopzzz said:

do you not like because of what others might think? or something else? every tattoo will look sideways or upside down when your arm is up or bent

You're totally right; of course a tattoo will look upside down at some point. It definitely wasn't a rational reaction. I think it was partly just that I got the tattoo a bit on a whim, so I hadn't mentally prepared myself, but to your point, I do think I was worried about how other people would react as well. The good news is that I feel much better about the tattoo now. I'm not in love with it, but it also doesn't bother me anymore, so I'm considering that a win.

[Maynard]

looks really good! show em off! tattoo is better than no tattoo!

 

btw, the car looks pretty darn cool imho.

Edited July 22, 2021 by Maynard