“Cool tattoo. What does it mean?”

Aren’t you tired of this ever recurring question, tattoo-bearing folks?

Let’s be honest. There’s a certain appeal for getting a tattoo. A few got one to become rebels, while many got it to feel they belong. Many had theirs done in the heat of the moment, others waited, gave their decision time to mature. Some get a tattoo because they find it’s permanence exciting, while others because they understand that nothing is really permanent. Some tattoos are for turning heads, longing for attention, while others bear a private meaning for their owner. A few get to grow into meaning as time passes.

I got mine at the age of 15 with an improvised tattoo machine loaded with printer ink. As a token of remembrance it followed me through my mid twenties. One that’d see every night undressing to go to sleep and every morning while brushing my teeth in the mirror, so it was a constant reminder that:

1. Actions have consequences. You can’t sleep everything off. There are words said that cannot be unheard, posts and mails sent that cannot be taken back. Damage inflicted that cannot be undone. Be responsible for what you put out in the world.
2. Everything you’ve done makes you the person you are today. It’s a time travel paradox. You won’t be able to go back in time to change anything. And if you could, would you really want to? You might not be the same person you are today, you might not know the best people in your life right now if not for all the good and wrong you did along the way.
3. You must have it your way. Don’t let society decide who you are At some point, while in Warsaw I’d set an appointment to have it erased. The day of the appointment I arrived in front of the tattoo salon where I was scheduled for the procedure. After a moment spent there, I turned around and ran back home. By the end of the day, I already had another appointment to a different salon to have a cover-up instead. The truth is, I always wanted tattoos, It was just the fact that I was faced with what I considered a ticket to be accepted again as a member of the conforming society.

I got it fix a couple of years ago with. Like an old tree whose growth comes from the stacking rings, although not visible anymore, I can still feel the strong outlines of the old tattoo underneath the new one.