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In the year 1883 Jack London gently explained his views on the art of tattooing, today you can find that view quoted on the Internet, bold and clear, "Show me a man with a tattoo and I'll show you a man with an interesting past." In saying such a thing one would conclude that a tattoo is a mark of meaning surfaced from past experiences. So the underlying question arises, why do people get tattoos if they hurt?

There are several reasons one might get a tattoo. One is symbolism. A person wants to express something about themselves, they want other people to see that part of them resting calmly upon their skin. For many a tattoo is something that shows you've made some sort of self-discovery, that you've concluded something about yourself and it had meaning to you. You arrange those words, those feelings into a form of art, and have it inked onto your skin so that you won't forget. It tells a story after you pass away, or to passer-byers upon city streets.

Many people, though often later regret getting inked for this reason, get tattooed for the style. They like how it looks. Henna tattoos are the most common tattoos for it's style. Another example of tattooing for style was the reign of the "tramp stamp", a tattoo that several women often have placed upon their lower backs.

Often times tattoos will express a passion for something such as cooking, hair, sports, location, or life. I've seen several chefs get food items tattooed onto their bodies such as racks of asparagus or sandwiches. It marks a time that they're found something they are passionate about. Another kind of tattoo is a mural, or portrait tattoo. When a being looses a loved one they sometimes get a picture of that loved one tattooed somewhere on their body with a few loving words. I've seen fathers get portrait tattoos of their children or wives on their arms, and mothers do the same.

The symbolism of the tattoo has to obviously overcome the fact that the tattoo will hurt. I personally sat in pain for 7 hours to get my tattoo on my shoulder-blade. The pain didn't matter to me, I wanted to show what I'd come to realize, a mark of my history, a tattoo is like a story told through a work of art.

Learn more about this author, Brittany Murrietta.
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