I have been enjoying my eighteenth year of life thoroughly. It truly feels like I have unlocked the next level in a game and as a result, got a bunch of cool new abilities. Voting, for instance, is a fun new activity I get to partake in as a legal adult. As cool as voting, buying lottery tickets, and opening a bank account are, I have been waiting for my eighteenth birthday so I could get a tattoo. What I have learned in my three months of being an eighteen year old with a tattoo is that if you have a tattoo people will ask you questions, and you will have to answer the same questions multiple times. So once and for all, I will answer the top three questions I have been asked about my tattoo.
1. “Is it real?”
Yes, it is real. Now that I am eighteen I don’t have to keep drawing on myself with a sharpie. It would be a bit strange if I felt the need to rewrite the same phrase on myself after every time I shower. It certainly is not a sticker, that would be even more strange than writing on myself with a sharpie!
2. “Did it hurt?”
Not really. Surprising I know, but I didn’t really think it was that bad. I got my tattoo on my collarbone, which I was expecting to be extra painful. However, to me, it just felt like a sharp burning sensation, nothing that was unmanageable. Maybe I overhyped the pain in my head so it wasn’t as bad as I had mentally prepared for, or maybe I just have a super high pain tolerance, who knows.
3.”What does it say?”
My tattoo is a quote from one of my favorite books; Warcross by Marie Lu. It is the same tattoo the main character of the book has, and it is the phrase every locked door has a key. Over a year after first reading this book, that one quote still stuck with me. It is a great reminder that every problem has a solution and that I can tackle anything I put my mind to. For those reasons, I wanted to keep with me forever.
!Bonus Question!
“Your parents let you do that?”
Ha! I don’t need my parent’s permission, because I am eighteen! (but they did know, and my mom isn’t the biggest fan).