Ink on the brain

I want a tattoo.

Unfortunately, I am not the girly-girl type that can just go out and demand something with no significance, just "pretty". How does one justify to themselves the permanent branding upon oneself of something that means nothing? I could be getting a Celtic knot, or a Japanese character, or a flower, but they wouldn't mean anything, and I certainly cannot imagine myself being pleased with it in the future.

And thus my inner dialogue begins. I have two tattoos in mind; one a concrete design based on a multi-year obsession, and one a fluid, intangible want to represent who I am at this time. I of course have the understanding that I will not remain of the same mind throughout my life, but rather would like to capture who I am now to remind myself as to who I have been. That is the whole point of getting this tattoo.

Getting inked was inspired by my ever-constant recognition of the human mind and its changing definition of the world around it. As we age, things like dementia and Alzheimers can take hold, leaving a person altered. A tattoo, in the future, would provide me with something to hold on to, a sort of recognition of the person I once was.

A problem I foresee in the pinning down of my person into one image is my ever-changing maturity level. I've been thinking on this for two years, but with no image in mind save the want to utilize something Northern. Ovayok, a mountain in this area, is the most iconic image we have. Yet it is a flat glacial scraping, barely picturesque enough to be transformed into a piece of permanent artwork.

Another thing I had considered was taking a piece of Japanese art. I have a passion for East Asian culture, and have shown that interest quite a bit. However, Hokusai, a popular artist and a favourite of mine, has only one usable piece, and it is a popular mainstay of lovers of Japanese art. Call me hipster, but I'd prefer to at least try to be different.

Lyrics, favourite book quotes, and many other trivial things have crossed my mind. I could get "DON'T PANIC" somewhere, but that would greatly upset my brother; he is much more attached to the Douglas Adams culture than I am. I considered something by Jane Austen, but in seeking out a suitable quote I realized just how anti-feminist she can across. I could get lyrics tattooed on me from a variety of favoured bands, but my tastes in music are constantly changing and I would prefer to not act like a billboard for a band.

My sister is lucky. At 15, she has already decided what her one important piece of ink will be: the cross my mother got tattooed on herself. A little unfair, as it acts as a tribute to my mother in a way that I will not be able to copy.

My brother and I spent some time talking about what we would like to get done, but in the end he has a more concrete idea than I do.

The last idea I have, the concrete and perhaps the most cliched, is to get the Galactic Empire sign tattooed on the back of my neck. I am a Star Wars nerd, and the concept appeals to me. Perhaps this little thing, a love I have held since I was 12, is good enough to at least start with.

Hopefully I'll have this figured out by the end of the summer: my mother will be coming to settle my brother in for University, and she is planning on getting the Lord's Prayed in Spanish, or at least a line of it. I'd like to have company when I pick my tattoo.