Im tired of the judgement!

To start off im 15 and getting my first tattoo the day i turn 18. My mother said she would pay for it as long as she got to pick the shop. But im tired of seeing friends getting judged by these uppidy fucking preps and rich snobs! Im not going to hide my ink i will wear it with pride! I dont care if people cant see through the to see me. Because the ink is the person who wears it. My father has had tattoos almost his entire adult life. he's now in his fiftys and he's thinking about getting more ink. And ask any of his friends he is the nicest most hard working and providing man you will ever meet. I understand some really shady and evil characters have had tattoos. But thats like saying all pit bulls are mean. ITS FUCKING RETARDED!!!

I know how it feels. I too used to be the kid that everyone picked on, called me a fag, insane, everything. And I too with my mindset on "showing those fuckers that I dont care" (While thats exactly what you are doing when you think like that) got tattoos that I thought were cool and HC and "beign true". Peoples reactions changed towards me. Too bad (not BAD bad, but you know what I mean) you too change, the tattoos dont. So now I still have the "cool tattoos" but now that I am more grown up (I had the "cool" ones like 4years ago) I still carry that immaturity with me, to everywhere. And when you get older, you realise that it does matter what people think, but not in the way it does when you are a teen. But tattoos (both good and bad) will give you a certain image, image that you perhaps wont be in 5years time. So when you take the tattoo, take it for yourself, but dont take it to show them that you can carry it. Because thats when you really take it for THEM. And they still win. Heres a good article from the makers of this site about this kinda stuff. Subject Matter and Projecting Energy Another thing to contemplate, especially for larger custom tattoos, is the 'energy' that the tattoo will express, or the message that it will convey. This may sound a little cheesy, but it's still worth noting that the subject matter of your tattoos will project a certain 'vibe' about you into the world, especially to any up-close viewers of your tattoos. Just like a painting is meant to affect the viewer, your tattoos will affect their viewer, even though you may have gotten them solely for yourself. Images of death and destruction are very powerful, as are those of beauty, but the former may lead other people to stereotype you in a potentially worse way than the latter. Therefore, give proper thought to the images you choose to adorn your body with for the rest of your life, and be sure that you can live with any foreseeable consequences. In no way are we attempting to reinforce or justify unfair social stereotypes of certain tattooed people by mentioning this, but you should be aware of the social conditions that you live in, to determine what you do or do not want to deal with.

And I advise you to read this too :) Physical and Emotional/Intellectual Maturity We suggest a minimum age of 20 years old to get tattooed. In most of the U.S. the legal age to get a tattoo on your own is 18, but let's face it, most of us at that age, although granted certain legal rights, are still developing our personalities and changing our interests more rapidly than when we hit our early or mid twenties. This of course can lead to regrettable tattoo decisions even though the law says we can do it without penalty. In addition to this, many teenagers who are under 18 ask where they can get tattoos with their parents' consent, because in many states this is legal. However, with a few exceptions, most respectable professional tattoo artists are too busy to deal with the headaches of tattooing anyone underage, due to the fact of how rapidly teenagers are changing and how fickle they can be (and if you are a teenager reading this, those things are nothing to be ashamed or defensive about--they are normal and healthy parts of the aging and maturation process!). That said, if you look enough, you still may find someone talented willing to work on you, but odds say you will be getting the tattoo covered up anyway when you get older. We would suggest spending the time it takes until your 20th birthday or so learning about tattoos (as well as yourself), researching artists, and developing your ideas for a truly unique tattoo that is fantastic. If you are young and still want to get tattooed, just remember that your body parts should be finished growing, and that your ideas of what's cool will probably change over time. Know what permanent means.

The only thing that ever changes negative stereotypes is example. Even people that have a platform to talk loudly about things need to back it up with example. Start changing people's opinions now - if they know you're not a drugged-out delinquent (or whatever) they shouldn't put it on you when you do get tattoos.