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I remember that article. She probably wrote another article later talking about how everyone regrets tattoos and crying about her laser removal. To the OP - same as my thoughts for a woman - if you have to ask, you're not ready.

Unrelated: This reminds me of that woman who got upset that a really good tattoo artist refused to tattoo her kid's name on her neck in an ugly font. She had one or two other tiny tattoos, and she wrote a whole article about how awful he was and how she got some hack to tattoo the name on her anyway.

IMO as long as you have earned the right to have hand and neck tattoos then there are no other rules, the only thing IMO is that your first tattoos should never be hand or neck tattoos. I have both hands and both sides of my neck tattooed, do whatever you and the artist think looks good to you and on you.

That's going to be tough to cover up - Big Fat Dark letters. I don't think that rose you showed will cover it up as is. You should see someone who specializes in cover ups. You will probably need to do some laser on that first.

It think it's hard to quantify, but I would say it will help. Think of it like this - the ink goes into your skin. When the sun hits your skin, it causes the ink to fade, just like the sun fades everything it touches. My house was built in 2007. The floors exposed to the sun are much lighter than the floors that never get sunlight. So the more sun your tattoos get, the more they will fade. Given what we know about the sun today, I would not be out tanning for any reason, but if you do tan, I would rethink getting tattoos in visible areas.

Hey there...all tattoos will fade and settle in with time. It's style, application as well as aftercare that lead to longevity. Tattoo styles like traditional and Japanese with great black lines generally hold well. They don't have to be solid black as black fades, too and application matter. Aftercare is critical! The sun is a killer of tattoos. Someone recently posted a photo of two 25-30 year old tattoos. One had been exposed to sun without sunscreen (or at least not consistently) while the other never really saw the sun. The tattoo that was covered STILL looked amazing.

eagle could be clutching the compass, but the eagle would likely not be symmetrical across the chest...an asymmetrical bird chest piece can look really cool and unique. depends what look you want. a good tattooer will be able to advise you on the design/placement and if they are interested in incorporating the existing tattoo into their design or just make it look good as a standalone chest tattooo.