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Hi everyone just got this part up my leg today. Hope it heals as easily as my foot did! What do you all think of it? It's a cherry blossom. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I think it's a beautiful tattoo,it fits your leg just right,very nice ! from my experience the skin on that part of your leg will heal nicely,it's an easy heal area IMO. and welcome to the forum AND the addiction !

Good point @tertia. The trust part. You research, do your homework, and so on, like you said, and I think that maximizes the probability of satisfaction. But the moment the needle first hits your skin, you have implicitly accepted the outcome, and that's scary.

@oboogie to clarify I said my tattoo was healed in the sense I stopped aftercare, after 2 weeks. It was in fact 2 and half weeks. I also said I was giving it time to "bed in". Now, I appreciate you may not be familiar with this phrase, so I will explain. "to bed in", means to give it time to settle in, to complete healing. And for the record, I am female :) It was easier for this knee healing wise, than my other knee. Which struck me as odd since it was my bad knee, but not complaining :) Yes it does take at least 4 weeks for a tattoo to fully heal, it takes 4 weeks for your body to heal/recover after a tattoo. Depending on what way you wish to word it. @Gingerninja how is your little froggie doing? :) @realsis looks good so far :)

Coming to accept the tattoo(s) you have is one of the best lessons I've learned from getting tattooed. There's so much trust involved in being tattooed, because no matter how much research you've done on artist, how many portfolios you've looked at, how excruciatingly you studied the stencil before having it put on your skin, when it comes down to it, you're basically trusting a complete stranger to permanently alter your body and appearance. As someone who generally likes to be in control of everything, getting tattooed allows me to practice letting go, being present in the moment, and accepting things I can't change in a way that few other things in my life can. I only have three tattoos, but I have one that I had a harder time accepting than the others because the lines aren't as bold, the colors not as saturated, and stylistically is just a bit off from the bolder style I've learned that I prefer. I don't regret the tattoo, and I certainly don't hate the tattoo, but the point is, even if I did, it's there now! Nothing I can really do to change it so it's not worth worrying over. I think your tattoo looks lovely and well done. I agree that it would be prudent to hold off on completing the sleeve until you feel more certain that's what you want. I think it looks fine as a stand alone piece.

Very well written. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on that topic.

I didn't really expect to learn anything from getting tattooed, or for tattoos to change me in any way. I got my first one due to an interest in the art form and out of curiosity/a desire to take a risk and experience something new. The whole process of getting tattooed (everything from planning the design to scheduling the appointment to waiting for the appointment to trusting the artist to not F*** up your skin to living with the work after it's done) has been so much more fascinating and fulfilling than I could have ever imagined. I think getting tattooed is a pretty intense trust exercise. You approach an artist - who's probably a stranger, describe what you have in mind, and trust that they'll be able to execute your vision and put it in the right spot and apply it with proper technique. Even after you approve the sketch, you have to trust that it will transfer well to skin, and that the color palette will match (or be better than) what you imagined. All that can be nerve-wracking, but as someone who loves to control everything she can and worries incessantly about plenty of things she can't, there's something incredibly therapeutic about relinquishing control and putting trust in a stranger to put something beautiful and permanent on your body. My tattoos have also been a great exercise in acceptance. My control-freak nature also comes with a healthy dose of perfectionism (and a propensity for not taking risks), but with my tattoos I've had to let that go. I think I have great tattoos, but of course they have their flaws, and learning to live with and accept them has been healthy for me, I think. I made a choice to get tattooed, trusted my artists, and have to accept the work as it is because it's there forever whether it turned out like I planned it or not. Lastly, I never expected getting tattooed to be so FUN. Not that I explicitly enjoy the needles-boring-into-my-skin part, but the excitement and ritual leading up to tattoo day, hanging out in shops, seeing the huge lovely flash collections on the walls, and meeting interesting people has been so delightful.