I started listening to hardcore music when I was in 7th grade, and fell in love immediately. The music just had something to say that was positive and about getting said what needed to be said. I found this music to be so much more relatable then rap and other trash that was on the radio. I did not care about 'smacking hoes' and how girls should 'shake them booties.' Then I discovered the straight edge crowed. They accepted me and explained who they were what it stood for. How it's the decision to think for yourself, and not let chemicals that infect the mind make decisions for you. I took up my vows when I was in my first year of high school.
At A Glance Author Michelle Contact Michelle@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Mario Studio Buddah's Body Art Location Erie, PA
I always knew my first tattoo would be a straight edge one, but I also knew I had to show some form of conservatism with it. I grew, and still do, grow up in a family that shuns tattoos. My mother would always tell my brother and sister that if we ever got a tattoo, we would have to pay for our own college. Considering we all go to a private university, this was not what I wanted to do. I was so sure that my 18th birthday was going to be the day I went out and 'got inked', but overcome by circumstances, and having no idea what I wanted, it was just going to have to wait. After weeks and weeks of doodling around I came up with a 'tag' form of sXe, and I knew immediately that's what I wanted. I had the outline, the size and the colors, now I just needed a location. Nothing screams superficial and more stereotypical to me than a girl who gets a tattoo on her lower back, so that was out of the question. This needed to also be in a place where my family wouldn't be able to see it. I opted for the prime spot on the frontal right half of my hip, just on the bone. About six months after my 18th birthday I arrived at Buddha's Body Art in Erie, PA ready for action. After signing the official forms and telling Mario, the artists, where I wanted it, he looked at me and said, "this is your first tattoo, and you want it on your hip?! Holy Shit, are you stupid?!" He was merely referring to the pain one usually experiences when a tattoo is done over a bone.
I survived the process and was very pleased with the work that he had done. Spring had turned into summer and it was swimsuit time. Nervous that my ink would peek out from my suit I put it on and made sure it was able to cover it with a moderate sense that it would also stay in place. Success. I was now a member of an elite group.
I was part of the hardcore kids who have made the lifelong vow and have decided that it's so strong that we can permanently place it on our bodies. All was wonderful, but not for long.
Having also grown up with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, (think Monk) it was very unbearable to have a marking on one half of my body and not on the other side. What to get? I wanted something similar in size, but I decided the colors needed to be opposite of what I already had. The sXe tattoo was kind of a sunset, with red fading to orange then yellow. I soon came up with an idea of getting xXx on the opposite hip, with nightfall colors, purple to blue to green. But the problem was how to get the little 'x's to connect to the big middle X the way the 'S' and the 'E' did on the first one.
This is where Mario came into help a second time. I went back to Buddha's with the drawling of the X and the colors, and explained to Mario what I wanted done with this. He came up with the niftiest way to draw the two little 'x's. He showed me what he came up with and he got to work. It was a small tattoo and didn't take very long, but the pain wasn't as bad the second time as it was the first time. I have actually come to enjoy it.
I only have the two tattoos now as it stands. Being a college student and trying to hide things from your parents while you live at home is often a challenging job. I do know that someday, sooner or later, more likely sooner, I will get a third tattoo. This one I plan to have done on my lower tummy in-between the two tattoos saying 'Unbreakable'. I understand that I should wait to get this one done, because its position on my body is highly likely to get screwed up if I have children, but we can all have dreams.
I have no regrets with my tattoos, but they are not for everybody. I am a believer that if you are going to get one, it should mean something. Flowers are beautiful, yes, but how many girls go out and get flowers, but then they mean nothing to them. It was just 'something to do.' If you are going to get one, in my opinion, give it meaning.