What my tattoos taught me about regret.
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
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"The consequences of getting a tattoo that you don't like are in reality very small. The consequences of marrying someone, who's an asshole... I would call these real consequences."
The nurse who did my second COVID jab admired all my arm tattoos and told me that lots of her elderly patients with dementia can still remember and tell stories of why/where they got their tattoos and it's sometimes one of the few things that stick in their memories of their lives which was the most wonderful thing I had ever heard.
I just want Leena to officially life coach me through my twenties.
I want her to life coach me through my fifties!!!
She did it! :)
And my thirties!
The one thing that non-tattooed people don't really understand about having tattoos is that you pretty much forget the exist. Right after getting my tattoos I have either intense regret or intense excitement or whatever but after a week or so passes they are just part of yr body and you don't really look at them or think about them at all. In my experience non-tattooed people have a very hard time believing that but I always tell people just get literally whatever you feel like then you'll break the tattoo seal and realize its usually pretty hard to regret getting a nice lookin picture on yr body (unless you get something that means A LOT that ends up not meaning a lot any more).
Exactly. I got my first tattoo a month ago, and my parents weren't really happy about it since I could regret it and it would be on me for the rest of my life. I love the tattoo I got, but it isn't something that's on my mind most of the time. It's not something I have to keep in mind when making certain decisions, it's just something on my body that I like.
Dude same, I always have intense regret for about a week after I get a tattoo, and then it turns into contentment.
I currently don’t have any tattoos (but I really want them) but when I dyed my hair that was exactly what happened! For the first few days I was kinda regretting it but after that it was just how I looked and I forgot it was new or odd
Ahh so glad to see other people feel the “intense regret or excitement”. I immediately go to intense excitement after getting it done but in the two weeks of caring for it I fall into deep regret, then once it’s healed and I don’t have to constantly look at it I fall into contentment and never really think of it unless it catches my eye. And of course at this point I’m looking up my next tattoo 😂
I buzzed off like 15 inches of hair and felt all of this. There was also the pleasant aspect of continuous change as it grew.
A wonderful side effect of getting tattoos is how great they make me feel. Spots that I've felt shit about, I've gotten tattooed and my view by body overall has done a full 180. Not to mention how hardcore is it to take someone's art, put yourself though a certain amount pain, so you can have that art on your body forever? Pretty fucking hardcore
A THOUSAND TIMES YES. Next I'm getting a thigh one I think, for that reason exactly!
i remember reading an article about how many people with tattoo have more confidence about their bodies, and I can say this has happened to myself and many others i know
Yesss getting tattoos did A LOT for my body image. I used to wear pants constantly during the summer because I hated my legs. Now that I have a few leg tattoos, I love to show them off and I love looking at them myself.
I’m a biological anthropologist and two years ago at an academic conference I made a spur of the moment decision to get a tattoo of an ancient skull on the back of my right arm (for reference, it’s the “broken hill” skull). Anybody in my field gets so excited when they see it, and I personally have no regrets about it whatsoever; I love what I do and I’m happy to be reminded of it everyday with such a badass tat. But I cannot begin to tell you the amount of judgment I’ve received for it. People have referred to it as a “biker tat”, have asked if I’m in a gang or cult, have asked if it’s a “prison tat”, and have said things like “well some things you just really need to think through!” At first it really bothered me, but after a certain point I just got to thinking, “this tattoo makes me REALLY happy, and why should I care about the opinions of people who think it’s their place to tell me what they think of a decision I made about my body?” Will always wear this ink loud and proud!
i’m an artist and have been studying anatomy in college and i just like bones in general so i got a skeleton hand tattooed on the back of my leg. it’s amazing how many people judge you for simply having bones on you!! i’ve had so many people tell me that it’s morbid and celebrating death. it bothered me for a bit but then i decided i loved it and it’s fine if other people don’t because it’s on my body and not theirs! yay bone tattoos!
@@whitleyhowlett8296 awww! So great to see such a positive response all this time later ❤️ I’m getting a whole sleeve of bone tats!
Yesss to all this. I got my tattoo when I was 20, and *multiple* people asked me, "What if you meet Mr. Right someday and he's perfect but he hates tattoos???" and I was just liked, "Then I guess he's not Mr. Right, is he??" I've been thinking about a second tattoo for a while, and this video might have inspired me to make my first post-covid Thing to be getting a tattoo...
did you end up getting the tattoo?
@@kibokii yes!!
I had a similar thing of loving tattoos but "not being that type of person" I wasn't cool and "good girls don't get tattoos". Then lockdown happened, I had a lot of self reflection and booked my first tattoo appointment in July eeeek!!
How did it go?
17:14 “it’s a really weird indicator of how people feel about you as a person” made me sit straight up. Holy shit. You’re so right. That’s so incredibly wild.
When I was 25 I decided to get my first tattoo. My parents had such a hissy fit about it, so my sister got second piercings on her ear lobes in solidarity.
I've always wanted a cat and I've always wanted a butterfly tattoo on my thigh. Don't know why, but it's what I've always wanted. My 18 year old sister died three weeks ago, and now I own a cat and I'm getting my butterfly tattoo in a few weeks. I had always been so anxious about these decisions, as though I couldn't truly make them. But the anxiety is completely gone now. And I'm so very ready to have the thigh butterfly tattoo I've always dreamed about.
I hope that tattoo looks bloody brilliant! X
Does it look good, are you happy with it :)
i’ve been having a lot of negative thoughts about my tattoos. this video made me realize i was dreading how OTHERS reacted towards my tattoos. i’m very sensitive, and it’s hard for me to fend off comments/questions about them. thank you so much for this video 💛
One thing non-tattoed people never believe when I tell them is that the meaning of the tattoo is a lot let important than the aesthetics. If it is well done and well placed (not only individual tattoos but the whole group of them) it is very hard to regret them. When you look at your tattoos you are looking at the aesthetics, very rarely will you look at them and think about "that thing you wanted to remind yourself of". Their meaning, in fact, will change, we resignify our tattoos as we grow and change, and this is why I think it is important to try not to get tattoos with "obvious" meanings, especially not written words or phrases, but that is not a fixed rule.
I am trying to use getting tattooed as a way to let go of my fears and just do what makes me happy rather than stressing over consequence.
I've got a massive Freddie Mercury on my forearm with "It's a kind of magic". The first six months of 2019 were easily the worst of my life by a long shot. I felt lonely, isolated and depressed. What genuinely kept me alive was watching reaction videos on UA-cam of Queen. Basically, people discovering Queen as a band and FM as a performer for the first time. It was like seeing it for the first time myself all over again. There's been debate over how real these types of videos are but I really don't care. Watching people fall in love with FM as a performer made me feel all of the emotions that I'd forgotten existed back in my discovery phase of Queen over a decade ago. It gets mixed reactions from people but I'm not sorry I got it at all, it's a physical reminder of my love for live music, performance and my own perseverance through struggle. Plus Freddie is fucking magic.
I got my first tattoo at the age of 46 after the death of a friend inspired me to reexamine my ideas about a lot of things. I quite often get compliments on my upper arm tattoos. I am now 61.
14:58 YES!! i had to realize this in the years that i spent brainstorming tattoos for myself. when i tried to link my tattoos to meaning, my mind would change about them so often. but when i started to consider tattoos just because i found them visually appealing, i felt much more secure and happy about my ideas. so true!
So true
Such an interesting video! The only thing I regret about my tattoos is the placement. Sometimes I get an idea that would look perfect on a spot that's already taken!
This is why it’s taking me so long to get the main tattoos I really want 😂 I can’t help but think “what if it I want a different tattoo here in like 5 years?!”
I love this. I first spoke about getting a tattoo when I was 12. My parents were NOT happy. When I was 15 I was in awe with the suicide girls, but I was such a „good girl“ I didn’t even think about just going into a shop and getting a tattoo by myself. So I waited till I was 18. But then came a phase where every couple months I would decide on a new thing that I wanted to get tattooed. Because of my anxiety disorder I was really worried I‘d regret it later, so I was giving myself time to think about it. Well that was a really long phase. I am 28 now, I don’t care anymore about future regrets. But we are in a pandemic and tattoo artists are expensive anyway (as they should be!). So I have to wait yet again. But this video really helps to soothe the mind about the whole deal!
That whole analogy about getting married as compared to getting tattoos was perfect! That’s exactly how I feel too
I love having tattoos! They feel like such an integral part of me at this point, and honestly that's enough for me not to worry about ever regretting them. I like to think that even if I would ever stop liking the images, nothing can ever take away from the story of getting each one, and the point I was at in my life. They're like my little physical mnemonic devices :') And also, what better way to celebrate beautiful imagery and artistic skill? I'm a human canvas for life.
Yes to all of the above! I just got my first, it's representing my last three years, and I really like the thought of it always reminding me of this time in my life
I really really want to get some tattoos one day, I even know a few of what I want to get, but sadly I have a skin condition that stops me from getting them. I just hope one day my skin will stop fighting with itself and let me get them tattooed!
"I get to decide how fun my body gets to be" I absolutely looooove that
The smell from piercings is from dead skin cells and oil from your body just kind of sitting in there. You can usually get rid of it by washing it with a big of soap in the shower, moving the jewelry around to get the soap inside. All after it's healed of course ♥️♥️
the absolute AUDACITY of those earrings- the VOLUME- in love
I loved this video ❤️ I love talking about tattoos - I’m transgender (FTM) and I got two tattoos before I ever even came out, they’re both very stereotypically feminine and they’re both visible on my lower arm - I do have this almost tinge of regret about them but it also reminds me of a time in my life and the person I was who’s led me to be the person I am now.
I also love hearing people’s tattoo stories, such a lovely way to spark a conversation with others 🎈
The last five minutes in this video (a.k.a. the deep dive into individual decisions) was my favourite
I love my tattoos. So much. I hear from my family how much they are concerned by them: the cost, the pain, the time, how they'll age, etc. especially since they're all visible on my arms thus far. My brother's response is my favorite, however. He said to me, "Why would anyone be surprised that someone who loves art as much as you do would decide to decorate your body with it?" And that really plays into another comment from a friend when I was 18,19, that a tattoo can be about the visual more than the emotional meaning or whatever and still be a valid choice. I have a lot of tattoos I want, and now I'm less concerned about whether I'll like them in the future and more whether now is the right time to start the healing process, for example. I also just got three new ear piercings, and the commentary from my family compared to my friends is astounding! Stop the judgment, I'm happy! Thank you, Leena, this video was incredible. Have a lovely day!
I remember your story about being in the desert and saying you "weren't the kind of person to get tattoos," but I don't think I knew that it had a happy, empowering ending! That's awesome!
Also I really cracked up at the revelation that people asking you whether you'll regret it in the future is them saying they don't like it in the present. That feels very true???
I have a lot of tattoos, several of them large. I have had many people say "you'll regret them when your older" but I've always had the opinion that whilst some of my early tattoos aren't the great like you they are a memory and at the time of getting it, it was what I wanted to why would I regret that. I personally have found the comments I get are from the 'older' generation so I point out to them that when I'm old more people are likely to have a tattoo then not so I won't be the odd one out. I agree about not just coping someone else's art. Tattoos are supposed to be unique and personal that's what's makes them special.
I was in a concurrent enrollment program at my local college for my senior year and only had one "high school teacher" that was more of a mentor. Since we were such a small group, we could bond, she told us the story and location of every one of her tattoos (which were numerous, and in some awkward places), and it was a really neat event over all since it seems like even with tattoos being common, its rare that they are normalized in that manner.
Enjoyed the deeper questions here about worth and ownership of body, thank you. I’ve spent years feeling unsure about this and I found this helpful.
I got my first and only tattoo in Krakow by a guy named Krusty on my 19th birthday! It's of a middle finger and similarly located on my hip/butt. I'm 24 now and although I tend to stay away from little children at the beach in fear that I will corrupt them, I still love it because it reminds me of freedom and not giving a flying hoo-ha about what others say.
Before I got my first tattoo, I spent YEARS wanting a tattoo but feeling so undecided about what to get or where to get it. I saw it as a huge deal. I ended up getting a small spontaneous tattoo as my first one, which doesn’t have any meaning. I realized that tattoos really aren’t that serious. Now I just get whatever design I like and I get so happy looking at my tattoos!
When you prepared to show tattoo three you sort of flipped your hair and I honestly was expecting a forehead tattoo for a second 🙊 I love it 😊
I have never thought about that before but its so true, the attitude with tattoos is always regret when ultimately it only personally effects you the individual
I got a new tattoo yesterday of a pile of books with some flowers. Went into work today and my manager said that tattoos weren't the 'company image'. She then went on a rant about her negative opinion on tattoos. Crazy that people think they can have an opinion on my body!! Ive felt crap about myself all day because of this. I really needed this video today, so thank you so much!
I got the same crap from my old fashioned, jugemental boss
your earings are absolutely everything
Vicky H They’re a brand called Gung Ho :)
Leena, my love, you are so clever. I have to pause your videos multiple times to process what you just said. Then I rewind just to hear it again. 💕 I got my first tattoo at 31. I decided to stop taking life so seriously and now I have a unicorn farting out a rainbow on my arm forever. And I love him. He’s very sassy.
I love these kinds of videos toooo 💛 thanks for sharing your stories with us xx
I LOVE your book tattoo. It's so incredibly unique and mysterious and fanciful and just INTRIGUING. Not just beautiful, but captivating. Love it!!!!
"How fun my body gets to be." I love that!
i need the playlist re the engagement!! i love hearing romance stories (my life is literally void of them)
I have a quote from LotR that I really like, and it's helped me remember my worth in tough times. It's "All that is gold does not glitter" from the Riddle of Strider. It means basically the same as don't judge a book by its cover, but I love how it's a flipped version of "not all that glitters is gold". Also it just gives me so much joy, and I know I want it somewhere on my body. As soon as I can figure out where I want it, how I want it to look, how to get it, where to get it etc. it's going to be a part of me!
thankful for the insight! i have one small tattoo on my wrist which is like a symbol of my teen years in general. got it on a 20th birthday-trip for a concert with an artist i adored when i was younger - some nice closure. i often forget i have it even though it's in plain sight! i want a few more to honor different meaningful past times, places and personalities in my life, because those i know i won't regret. the most difficult thing is deciding the placement for a motif, haha.
thank you so much for this video! so interesting and insightful. i too have been that person obsessed with tattoos but didn't really think they were "for me" and couldn't decide on a design for my all important *first tattoo*
so off the back of this video i went and got my first tattoo yesterday, and i love it! thank you!
The bookish tattoo is gorgeous! I have a bookish tattoo as well, and absolutely love it.
This spoke to me SO much. I've decided to finally get an undercut which I've been wanting for SO long but kept not doing it based on what other people's opinions were
The idea of getting a tattoo fills me with genuine terror (which is how I know I should not get one), but this is absolutely how I felt about dyeing my hair. Obvi its a way less permanent decision but I'd wanted to dye it blue for years and I was so afraid of screwing over future me or it looking bad and honestly I'm so glad I finally went for it and did it. I feel like my hair looks objectively worse now, but I also love it so much that I super don't care.
I started dyeing my hair blue when I was partly grey. Enjoyed leaving a grey streak under too. Now it is white and grey but long. Blue dye slid right off the last time I tried. But I am glad to have done that.
loved this video and the sentiment behind it there's a few tattoos that aren't my *favourite* anymore but I can still appreciate them as a memory, a snapshot of who I was at the time, kind of like a storybook. Tattoos have also helped me feel less insecure and more in control of my body.
When I first heard you talk about your birdcage tattoo it was a day after getting my first tattoo and your attitude was such a help. It made me feel so good about making a change to my body that I really wanted and after my family gave me so much shit about it I was finally able to appreciate what I think!
I was at a family party right after I got my septum pierced and I honestly got ganged up on by my family members, telling me they hated my piercing and warning me to never get tattoos. I wish I saw this video earlier and stood up to them.
You are spot on about reclaiming your body by getting tattoed. I really felt like this. Doing something with MY body for MYSELF, even if people had opinions. I really felt empowered to be honest and I also agree with some of the comments down below that when I am clothed (during the winter especially) I forget that I have tattoos. When I take them off, I get excited and admire them all over again and that so much much :)
This is definitley the best tattoo-related video I've seen on youtube. Thank you for your wise words!
i booked my first tattoo like, two days in advance, mostly on a whim. i'd been thinking about tattoos for a while, but the exact timing was super quick. i drew the design for it the night i booked it, and decided the position on the day. it's great i love it and honestly whim is the only way i get stuff done so yeah. no regrets despite the haste
I had my "break the seal" tattoo at 18. I was 26 when I had the courage to get my second (bigger and way more visible) tattoo. Now I am almost 31 and have over 20 tattoos, lost count. If you want them and can afford them, go get them!
I think ppl think you will regret them when you are old because we are not used to seeing older folks covered in tatts, but guess what, if we get to be that old it will be super common, so don't be afraid.
Those are the craziest earrings I've ever seen. So cool
Totally with you about the tattoo before marriage thing. Before I got my tattoo (on the neck, so nobody really sees it that much unless I do my hair up anyway), I got a few comments like „What would that look like on your wedding day? Do you like that?“. And I was 19 at that time, not even in a relationship and not thinking about how I would look on my wedding day (as if that was so important, to me anyways). I still adore my tattoo and don’t regret it at all because it has a lot of meaning. And even if it didn‘t, why did they care so much?
Also I just love your channel!
It took me years to find the right tattoo and got it on my thigh, I had had body image issues and took a long time to realise this body is awesome and has done awesome things and I'm super thankful for her, I love the tattoo on my thigh and would love more when funds allow.
Also loved the point about tattoos in work place, there's a couple of teachers who have tattoos (and awesome blue hair) in my childrens school and it opened up a fab discussion with my mum about individually and why I'm super happy that my children get to see these cool women and not everyone is the same, when I worked in a school a member of staff had to cover her tattoo that was on her shoulder and I just thought it was ridiculous, children are exposed to so many things what is so bad about seeing a tattoo? Anyway, loved this and love you xx
I really liked what you said about how what you favour aesthetically is less likely to change (or at least it doesn't change much with me either) than favourite quotes or meaning to the tattoo. People like to ask 'but what does it mean?' but to me the most important thing is that I like how it looks. I also like tattoos picking up meaning as we live, seeing something in it I didn't see before, like you mentioned with the heart on your sleeve.
Your perspective of life and what constitutes an important life decision is really refreshing to hear. I came to a similar conclusion in spring 2019 when I decided to get my first tattoo at 34. Before then, I let those "uhh but you will regret it when you are 50" kind of people get in my head too much. I don't know if those people are also this obsessed with what they look like and what others think of them, or if they just enjoy interfering with other people's decisions ;)
I think the only tattoos that most people actually regret are based on a relationship and/or religion that they end up leaving.
I don't know anyone who actually regrets the kinda cliche or once trendy, now out motifs that they liked when they were younger. It's part of their life story and even sometimes it's just something a whole generation can relate to and laugh at together.
Also LOVE your point about climate change.
I have tattoos on my wrists. They are the same chain link tattoos that are on Jack's wrists in Bioshock. The first two in the series are my favourite games and they have been for almost a decade. The artist was a fellow gamer and he knew exactly what tattoos I wanted when I asked if he could do a simple Bioshock tattoo. They are placed a little farther from the wrist than Jack's because the tattoo artist's experience with wrist tattoos. He said that they always fade faster and don't always heal right because of the movement of the area. He was an awesome artist and fun to have worked with because I asked so many questions about tattooing and he explained everything professionally. I think I made the tattooing process take a little longer than it should have because we were talking so much. It was like my own little TED talk with a fellow gamer. I didn't feel any pain when I was getting tattooed and only felt the vibrations from the machine.
Now I don't regret these tattoos because of any professional reasons. I went to school for mortuary science and worked in the funeral industry. I was in my internship for about 6 months before anyone realized I had them. No one has given me flack for it professionally because a lot of the directors in their 30's and 40's have them too and they are the ones taking over the industries from their parents and grandparents. Obviously the families that I assisted didn't care about my tattoos because they would have some or their family members that was in my care had them too. (that is even if they noticed them)
The one person who gave me flack for it was my mother in law. She thought it would be tacky for me to get any tattoos and an insult to her son. (we weren't married yet but together for over 3 years at that point and was talking possible marriage.) Then again she thought it would be tacky for me to dye my blond hair purple and now when it is black. The woman hasn't been a fan of me for almost 9 years now and the tattoos just adds to the dislike of me. She hates my tattoos so much she refused any wedding photos with them showing when we tried to give them to her. My husband thinks they are cool and is okay with me getting more tattoos if I want them. (He is also cool with my Bioshock obsession. He even agreed to have our introduction song at our wedding be "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darin the same song that holds the title card in the first game.)
The only reason why I regret having them is because I constantly have to explain where they are from and parts of the story of the games. I know it is a 13 year old first person shooter but it does get exhausting to constantly have to explain.
I had my first tattoo last year when I was 58. I had waited so long to find a meaningful image that I wouldn't regret. It celebrates that I am a british person who has taken French nationality and also remembers family sacrifices to war, so it is a poppy (british) coquelicot (cornflower... French remembrance flower) with a sprig of wild oats (for Correze where I live). It is so beautiful and my tattoo artist is actually a botanist...
My biggest regret... That I didn't have something done sooner. I am planning my second tattoo with me botanist within the next couple of months.... more wild flowers and I guess that I am going to become a canvas of flowers.
I just stumbled across this video and I am happy I watched the whole thing. You are so right about people being more worried and chatty about a tattoo possibly showing through your wedding dress than about who you are actually going to marry, which is a much more impactful decision! It's hilarious if you think of it.
Your tattoo story is quite helpful imo, so thanks for sharing!
I got a little tattoo on the inside of my forearm, which I wanted to place on my hand first - between my thumb and index finger. The tattoower adviced me to chose a different spot because tattoos quickly look smudged on hands, they just age very badly in this area. When I decided to change the placement I felt relieved and I don't regret it. But I regret that we didn't really adjust the design of the tattoo. It is a very simple form which was suitable for a hand tattoo, but it lacks that certain something on my arm (where it is slightly bigger and also quite visible). I would't say I regret it, though. It is well done and it means something to me.
And as soon as a tattoo is on your skin, it is just part of your body and history. It should be well considered, but there is no need to overthink it.
I got my first tattoo over summer after months of wondering over what I wanted. Finally decided on a design I pulled together overnight and booked an appointment for that weekend. It's not the most amazing or original thing in the world but I love it, and its definitely made me feel like tattoos are less of a big deal than I made them out to be before. I'm excited to get more.
I got my tattoo on my shoulder when I was 19 (35 now) amazingly I don't regret it as I designed it so I know nobody else has this exact thing, it's mine. However, living in ye Olde cold England I get a nice surprise every summer when my skin is finally exposed to the sun and I get a shocked "omg I didn't know you had a tattoo!?!?!" and I'm like, "oh sh$%, yeah!!!"
If I talk to people about getting tattoos, they always say that they like really small tattoos with a lot of meaning and I just sit there dreaming about the large tattoos i want to get only because they are gorgeous.
I always wonder how much people regret relationships and stuff like that bc I feel like people are very outwardly like "no regrets!!" and quite matter or fact about stuff like that (and of course recognise that... that's positive) but I would love to hear more from people about how they do and have felt regret, or how feeling regret... can be okay. Anyway, cool tattoos ;-)
love that this showed up on my feed when i got 2 tattoos today! i love getting tattooed and the act of covering my body in things i find aesthetically pleasing. i find that i like getting tattoos that don’t have meaning other than i just like the way they look because i’ll probably still find them nice looking in the future, but i love stories behind tattoos! i love slapping a nice bit of art on my body and it makes me look at myself a little differently and be like hey my arms look cool!!!
I remember when I was 18 I got lil peeps crybaby album cover tattooed and the artist had to make changes to it which at the time pissed me off a bit but now I’m happy I have a “custom” piece
Brilliant video as always! Love the energy, the cheerfulness and the social commentary :D Getting tattoos definitely gave me that sense of ownership you're describing. I might regret the placement or the pattern later on, but I know I'll never regret the act of having them done.
Also, those earrings are a mood.
In the truest (entirely chimerical) millennial use of the word.
Miriam Forrester they’re a brand called Gung Ho
@@chloexadam oh cool, i legit thought they were DIY and not a brand bc when i saw them i immediately thought "hm how could i make that myself" haha
I had my first tattoo when I was 19, two years later I have 8 big ones, making up an almost finished arm sleeve. I rarely get them out though, I don't like showing my arms that much, and wear mostly long sleeves so people are always so shocked to see them, but I get those questions about regretting them still so often, however every tattoo reminds me of someone or something, or a time in my life, even if to others they seem a bit silly (my latest tattoo was a Hendricks gin bottle!!!) and I don't think I'll ever see myself regretting them. I always like to say, that they are now as much part of me as the colour of my eyes or the shape of my nose because I cannot ever get rid of them and they are now a fundamental part of my identity.
I love your new tattoo, it's beautiful x
I love this. For over 10 years I've loved tattoos and piercings. I have some. I want to get more a sleeve/half sleeve but im so terrified ill regret it. Even though I've always been obsessed with them and I'm about to be 30. I've been trying to book a amazing artist but having no luck. But starting to 2nd guess if I should. This video is making me feel more confident in doing it.
Thank you for this! I am planning to get more tattoos but very conscious about what other people might think. I agree with everything you said especially about taking control. You've given me a bit more confidence.
You motivated to finally get one when shops open back up. I've been wanting one for nearly a decade :)
I have the same philosophy as you about tattoos! I always prioritise something that I think is beautiful, or just a great piece of art. That is much more important that memorialising some obsession. So I have a rule that I wouldn't get any text (quotes, names, any text at all!) or anything from a specific TV show/film/book etc. This means I just get stuff that looks really nice and I can appreciate even if my life and preferences change.
there are parts of my body I have much better relationship with thanks to my tattoos. And in reclaiming my body and bodily autonomy my tattoos have always given me this. Most of all though, my latest piercings have done that. I got my nipples pierced and it was the most liberating, fulfilling thing I've ever done. They are just for me and I felt like I had taken my body back, reclaimed it for me and my own happiness.
i did really enjoy this video! what a cheerful and wise chat. my parents absolutely hate tattoos and have no idea i got one on my back a couple of months ago. this friend of mine is an independent visual artist who needed someone to tattoo as training and i was happy to do it! i'll get it worked on to look more solid in the future but i'm honestly in love with it, it's a piece of art by someone i love that really represents me well. the art itself is this cartoon ish person with a big smile on their face drawing a sad face on their diary which is so me!!! i'm often in places where i don't have the freedom to express my emotions so i just pick up my journal and put it there while wearing my smile. i can't wait to get more tattoos and my parents can suck it! 😋
I absolutely love tattoo content!! This especially because it’s incredibly insightful and so well articulated.
All this tattoo talk makes me wanna go get another tattoo. I have 4 tattoos currently. My very first tattoo being a quote from Game of Thrones, Sansa Stark's quote "From porcelain, to ivory, to steel". My second tattoo I got with my gf who came to visit me, a Frankenstein quote because we met on Tumblr discussing Frankenstein and it's themes. Third tattoo I got for my birthday, the Moon Princess scepter from Sailor Moon R. And my fourth tattoo I got at a anime/videogame tattoo convention in Virginia, Final Fantasy 9 crystal logo
I just got my first tattoo couple months ago and I definitely regret the design (it looks fine) but I have a constant reminder of a great day spent with friends and the meaning of the tattoo itself is very important to me. So in the end I'm really glad I got it. Also it got me out of my comfort zone and it was a new experience. Everyone should get a tattoo!
I love this video and I love Leena. Like, she just cracks me up because she says things that are so spot on but with such a sense of humour. I also love the sentiment that your tattoos are a reminder that your body is yours. How beautiful.
Revisiting this after getting my first (relatively large) tattoo and considering a sleeve!
Great videos, I love it when you talked about how you said you weren't the type of person to get tattoes, this rang so true to me, I love tattoes but still haven't gotten one because I have this weird self-image of being too much of a "good, nice" girl in way even though I don't identify with that at all !
I love your book tattoo by the way it looks amazing, the placement is perfect too ! :D
Thanks, Leena! This was great :D the entire thing and it's so nice to hear someone say out loud what I think :) I have tattoos, I love tattoos :) I just got two new ones and I'm just aaaaaall of the heart-eye-emoji's.
loved the discussion about the flabibility tattoo pain index. Brilliant!
Your videos have been a huge source of comfort at this time.Take care and stay safe💛 💜 💛
As someone who doesn't have a tattoo I imagine having a story to justify having every one. That makes sense to me, if I ever see something I want to wear for the rest of my life, I would get it done. My daughter has some really nice dot work on her lower legs, it looks sweet. As does your book head feature.
Yes loved this ! Totally agree on so many of your points. I work in the NHS so new people meet me everyday and ask about my tattoos almost every shift and I don't mind at all it's a great taking point and most of the time they think I'm human too. I love art and my body and think it's a great investment. I have stickers on my laptop too so I guess we just get eachother.
Such a great video and points I really needed to hear! I’ve wanted tattoos for ages- and one design I’ve wanted for about a decade. But I come from a very conservative family. I’m very NOT conservative and have pushed boundaries in some ways with my family (like speaking up about politics and climate change and going vegetarian), but there are certain boundaries I’m still scared to cross, tattoos being one of them. Even though it feels right for me, I’m in my late 20s yet STILL terrified of how it will be received by my parents. I’ve been trying to work on my courage, and the points you made were so useful! As you mentioned, tattoos are a highly personal thing; I need to repeat that to myself whenever I start to worry what other people will think.
Can't believe I missed this video and haven't watched it before... As for the conch piercing, if you have had it for a while now I recommend changing the bar/jewellery if you haven't already so it is more snug. Having a longer one that moves around can offset the healing process :)
You are just one of the best UA-camrs I got to find 😭😭
I’m pretty new to this channel and already feel right at home. You’re like the wise older sister I don’t have and I love it.
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I have a bookworm sitting on a leaf with a pile of books on my back, unique to me as the artist drew it based on an idea I had and said after 'nobody else will want this..lol' , zero regrets!
I’m a little late to the party, but I got attached to you the other week and I’ve had a lot of feedback on it of people that didn’t like that I got another tattoo. It was really nice to watch this video and have someone tell me all the things I’ve been waiting for someone to tell me like that it’s my body and my choice and I’m not gonna be the same person I am now in 20 years... So thank you very much for this video! I know I wanna make a video about mine as well Haha
It's crazy I've only recently decided I wanted to get a tattoo (I mean I recently had THE idea that I'm really excited about), and I see your video so I think hey now's the perfect time to watch it ! Just to discover you have the tattoo I'm about to get done haha, I mean obviously it won't be the same but yeah I want a human heart as well.🤷 Anyway I'm happy to be sharing similar taste with someone I appreciate as much as you !
Dammit Leena, you're making me want a tattoo.
tattoos are such cool little/big markers of your own life and who you were when you got them. mine (6) are all pretty cliche little line art pieces but i love them anyway cause they meant something to girl i was when i got them even if other people think they are silly. they mark my changes and interests like the rings of a tree.