I got a tattoo when I was 18 and I didn’t regret it

It taught me more about more about decision-making and expanding my comfort zone than I ever could have expected

On February 13th, 2015, about a month after I turned 18, I was wandering through the streets of SoHo, NYC, enjoying a day to myself in the city. I stumbled upon a place called “The Wooster Street Social Club,” which I knew to be the famous tattoo parlor from the TV Show “NY Ink.”

I had done research about tattoos and knew the shop to be one of the best in the country. To make a long story short, after about half an hour of nervous indecision, I threw caution to the wind and acquired my first tattoo.

It isn’t anything spectacular, just a small heart on the inside of my left ankle. But, alas, it was a tattoo. Something permanent. Something taboo. Something, I’m told, I’m going to regret.

Well, it’s been over a year since I got my tattoo, and I’ve certainly matured as person. I’ve moved away to college and spent time discovering who I am and where my beliefs lie. And despite my ever-changing view of myself, I have never once re-thought my tattoo.

Of course, I am not writing this to persuade young adults to go get tattoos for no reason. Yet there is importance in living life with an air of adventure.

I’m aware than many may think I’m naive for making such a big commitment to my appearance at a young age. But I find that in doing so, I learned more about myself and the way I want to live my life. I learned it is important to embrace adventure and moments that seem scary. My tattoo represents a moment in my life when I left my fears behind and stepped outside my comfort zone. It represents a moment when I learned that tattoos aren’t as painful as they seem, and that I am able to be braver than I thought.

Because of my tattoo, I found I am able to make decisions for myself and stick by them. Getting a tattoo was one of my first, big personal decisions. It was a time I embraced my newfound adulthood and the freedoms therein. (Of course my parents weren’t incredibly happy, but they recognized it as a decision I, and only I, would have to live with and own up to).  My tattoo is a constant reminder that I must live, permanently, with every decision I make, and that I must make decisions that I am proud of.

I am proud of my tattoo. It has become a part of who I am. It is a representation of my fearless transition into adulthood.

And though I’ve been told be cautious of wearing my heart on my sleeve, nobody has told me I can’t wear it on my ankle.

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