Yo Yo Yacks

1. 24
   Jan
   

   The Day I Got My First Tattoo

   About a year ago I started planning my first tattoo. I was trying to come to a decision in regards to the design, location, color and size. My original plan was to have the initials of my deceased grandparents tattooed on the back of my neck, but I couldn’t decide on the font and colors. While I can handle needles like a professional, I just couldn’t bring myself to actually walking into a tattoo parlor. After a couple months of toying with the idea I decided that maybe tattoos just weren’t for me. Then this past March I went on a cruise with some of my extended family when it finally happened. I got a tattoo! It was as if none of my all prior reasoning’s really mattered the minute I stepped into that tattoo shop.

   So here I was enjoying my time with my family and acquiring a sweet tan on a Caribbean cruise. One of our many stops included the Cayman Islands and here is where my tattoo journey began. Let me tell you this Island was nothing like I have ever seen before. I have visited a lot of beautiful places; from Key West to Hemet California, all the way to the Virgin Islands. None compared to the beauty found here in the islands. The water was teal blue and translucent. The sky was picture perfect and resembled the sky depicted in the opening credits for The Simpsons. It was unbelievable! Clear white clouds hung perfectly in the blue skies. The sun was bright like a flash from a picture being taken. The view was breath taking. When we got to our destination the first thing all of us wanted to do was shop. All eight of us headed to the shopping area and began to browse through the various shops.

   When we got into the perfume shop, my Auntie Pauline walked right up to the sales associate and she asked him where the nearest tattoo shop was. To my surprise, the next I knew we were all heading past the Hard Rock Café and turning left onto Merrendale Drive. When we took the corner and I saw the Tattoo store sign, and that is when I started feeling anxious. In the past I had frequented a few tattoo shops with some of my guy friends and had even gotten a few piercings myself but for some reason this time, my nerves were in hyper-drive and my stomach was doing flip flops!

   On entering the store I noticed that it was clean and had two rooms. We were greeted by a man and woman. William was a native Costa Rican in his mid 30’s. He walked right up to Aunt Pauline ready to permanently mark her body. She immediately explained that she wanted a small tattoo on her foot about the size of a quarter. As she continued to dialog with the tattoo artist, my three cousins and I began glancing through the tattoo books that were on display. Five minutes into our browsing, my 18 year cousin Katherine, found a small cartoon butterfly that she liked.  Her step sister Annie immediately decided that she also like the same butterfly and wanted it tattooed. My Aunt walked over to Katherine and Annie to check out the design, and decided that she wanted the same butterfly as well.

   By the time they were done signing all the consent forms it felt like we were at a doctor’s office.  As I continued to browse through the books, I found some cross tattoos that I liked. The designs appeared old fashioned to me, like the ones you would see in a catholic church. While Katherine was being marked up by a needle, she announced to everyone that it did not hurt. I thought to myself, if my baby cousin can do it why cant I? While she was still getting hers done the other tattoo artist Caz came up to me. Caz was a 35 year old, Scottish lady who had tattoos all over her arms and back. I explained to her that I while liked the crosses, none of them seemed perfect enough to mark up my body. She took me to the front desk and opened her internet browser to Google tattoo I-cons. The first few pages of the crosses were similar to the ones in the books but on the fourth page I found a design of a cross that I loved! This tattoo design was a black outlined butterfly with purple wings. The body of the butterfly was a pink cross. It took my breath away! Caz could see that I was excited about it so she printed it to see how it would look on my foot.

   Caz took me into the other room and placed the design outline on my foot. I didn’t even have time to think about it, she told me to sit down and she began mixing the colors. The first poke felt like stepping on a rock. If that was all I had to tolerate, it would have been fine but it wasn’t. After a few more pokes it felt like not only was I stepping on a rock but the rock was now stuck in my foot and I kept walking. My Mom, Aunt Carol and Grandma Fultz appeared in the doorway to see what was going on. I immediately grabbed my Auntie Carol’s hand for support. When the needle moved closer to the right side of my foot, it felt like a sharp razor was hurting me. While I am getting my tattoo done William started working on Aunt Pauline’s butterfly tattoo. I could hear her make a lot of commotion in the other room. She understood the pain I was going through!  Time moved slow!  Caz stopped and with a sigh of relief I was grateful that it was over. But then to my dismay, she picked up another color and began poking me again! I looked down and saw the outline of the butterfly but no color! When she started up the motor of the tattoo needle again I cringed, but this time the pain was very mild. First she filled in the wings with purple then she filled in the cross with pink.

   Finally, my first tattoo was done! I didn’t have much time to admire it because Caz covered it with a paper towel and some tape. My aunt, her two daughters and I were all on cloud nine, excited that we had all endured the pain and now had our first tattoos! My 16-year old cousin Steven, the only boy on the trip, ended up going back to the shop that afternoon and to get a tattoo on his calf.

   Since March I have gotten another tattoo on my other foot and I’m already planning my next one. My brother did warn me that after I got my first tattoo I would become addicted to wanting more. I really didn’t believe him! I will never forget the day I got my first tattoo for it is forever embedded in my heart and is part of my favorite memories.