Top 10 Reasons to Tattoo

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Virtually everyone has identifiable "reasons to tattoo" (and not just one), so chances are that you will see a number of your own listed here.

Okay, let's test that theory. You may discover that there are reasons listed here that you hadn't consciously considered – and perhaps some words of caution that you should?

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1.   Express Your SELF –

Everyone is unique, whether they know it or not. Some people define themselves by their own talents, skills or aptitudes. Some identify closely with the professions they’ve chosen, or by their favorite hobbies or passions.

Some peeps just love certain animals, flowers, or objects and choose to "collect" these things on their skin rather than put them in glass cases.

Still others choose to reveal themselves by displaying their unique styles and tastes... (Read more)

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2.   Getting Some Attention –

Hard to be judgmental about this one because it is so common – virtually everyone who gets it done should admit that their reasons to tattoo start with the hope of drawing attention to themselves (on some level).

Of course, not everyone feels the need to get face ink...but there is no question that anyone who does it has no problem showing off their tattoos!

For the rest of us, whether it is an intricate full-body composition or something small you can show off by pulling up a sleeve or donning a bikini... (Read more)

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3.   Show Your Love –

It is not uncommon to see tattoos showing portraits, names and/or short captions of beloved family members or pets (even some of celebrities or other public figures you really like).

This particular reason to tattoo is very popular...and it is something you need to consider very carefully, as a "love tattoo" is very high on the list of the kind of ink so many peeps live to regret. 

Sometimes these are memorials to the dearly departed, but most depict the living... (Read more)

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4.   Get the Latest Cool Design –

Let’s face it…it is really hard to not feel compelled by the latest and greatest. Once again referencing the way we have felt looking at our old photos, you know there has got to be some kind of lesson here!

With so much to choose from these days, it is hard to imagine that today’s cutting edge will look silly or dated in just a few years...(Read more)

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5.   Pride in Your Service –

Whether it was serving your country or community, a life of service is a life of self-sacrifice, loyalty to others, and often personal hardship and even danger.

These tattoo designs were popular during World War-II...long before the current wave of general popularity for tattoos.

Someone once said of military enlistment: “To enter the service is to write a blank check to your country – for an amount of up to and including your life”...(Read more)

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6.   "Warning: I Walk on the Dark Side" –

Morbid Art is also a very popular form of Tattoo expression and it encompasses many subcategories; with imagery of skulls, zombies, bloody daggers, monsters, demons and all sorts of devilry and gore.

This stuff is quite the rage among bikers, "Goths," punk and heavy metal bands/fans, but seen more and more on young men and women who don't precisely fit into any of those categories...(Read more)

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7.   A Higher Calling –

We can call it Religion, Spirituality, Faith, Love of Nature or a Kinship with the Universe.

However you label it, many people adorn their bodies with symbols, imagery and scenes that are meant to show that they acknowledge and proclaim that there is a power greater than them.

...and that they embrace it...(Read more)

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8.   Pride in Your Peeps –

What’s wrong with showing a little “tattoo pride” in your peeps? Whether it is the land of your birth, your adopted country or your heritage, there is no denying it.

This is a great way to identify yourself to the world...a way to show who you are!

Wherever in the world you or your family come from – to include where you’ve been and even where you are now – it is a part of what makes you who you are...(Read more)

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9.   Fantasy, Mythology, Mysticism and Sci-Fi –

If you LOVE this "combo" genre and think you will still love it 20 or 30 years from now (in other words, you won't outgrow it!), then why not? This is one of those categories with seemingly endless design possibilities and combinations.

I bring these four genres together here because so much imagery is common to more than one of them (and sometimes all four).

In some cases, imagery here can also be neatly classified under the “Higher Calling” or “Walk on the Dark Side” groups too...(Read more)

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10.   Just for Fun (aka "Impulse") Tattoo –

So many reasons to tattoo...and so little time! This last category fits most anyone who didn't see their own reasons to tattoo outlined in categories 1 – 9. Have you ever met anyone who had a tattoo that seemed random?

Plenty of people pop into tattoo shops on a whim or a dare, and hopefully learn to like what they really gave little thought to...(Read more)