Day Seven: Prepping for my tattoo

I remember when I was in high school wanting a tattoo, but it was a no go with my parents. So instead I would apply temporary tattoos that you could get from Hot Topic and bubble gum wrappers (remember fruit stripe bubble gum) all over my body since I couldn't get a real one. My mother was very clear with me on her thoughts about the subject, so I never committed to an image that I would want to be branded with for the rest of my life. The rules regarding getting a tattoo are still the same, never get somebody's name tattooed on your body unless they're your kids. The minute you tattoo that name on you the demise of your relationship is sure to follow. Even though I've been dreaming about getting a tattoo for a while now, I'm not quite ready to take that leap so I settled for a Henna tattoo.I had gotten my first Henna tattoo in high school, a nice sunburst tramp stamp for the prom since my dress allowed me to have my back all the way out. I thought I was so cute. I wanted to tap into that inner spirit of freedom mixed with a little sense of rebellion that I felt back then.. So today I found a random threading shop on 31st and 6th, picked an image from a book, and the lady started working on me. Henna has been used in many cultures to decorate the hands and feet of women and men getting married. Although I'm not getting married anytime soon, it doesn't hurt to get yourself done up like a bride. I do love the tattoo I got because I know it takes great skills to make all those designs, but next time around I will use a darker ink. Thank God its only temporary I don't think I could commit to this color forever. I learned that embracing other cultures makes me feel a little mysterious, like you can't tell where I'm exactly from. I got a lot of great compliments and people expressing wanting to do it for themselves, and why not,it looks great and it doesn't last forever and everyone knows a woman has the right to change her mind. I learned that I'm still not ready for the real thing but I can celebrate the artistry of another culture anytime I want.