I grew up as a kid that was bullied and did all I could to not stand out or be notice as to not bring down more hurtful things upon myself. I also had a mom that as good as she was, was a child of the depression and wasn't at all accepting of things she wasn't familiar with. Add to that, I spent my adult life working in a profession that no matter how open minded they claimed to be, didn't want any nonconformists. I just admired tattoos and don't really consider them a possibility. I had one coworker with tattoos and occasionally talked to him about getting one.
I was fortunate enough to retire early. It took a month or so, but it dawned me that I no longer had any of those restraints and could do as I damn well pleased. First I got my ears pierced and then my first tattoo. It's been very liberating to kinda give the world the bird, lol. I'm currently part way thru a half sleeve and spend most nights cruise the net dreaming of future work and artists.