Excitement began to take over her as she turned the key to her car, starting to pull out of her driveway. Her palms began to slide off of the wheel as sweat seeped out, nervous from what was to come next. This wasn’t her first time going, and yet she still began to have a feeling of anxiety and nervousness take over as she continued driving. She knew that she needed to get some food in her system before getting there, but the thought of food made the butterflies bounce around and squirm even more. Still, she pulled through a drive-thru down the road from the shop and grabbed a small burger to force herself to eat it.
After managing to eat half of the food, she wiped her palms on her jeans and walked through the door of where her excitement and anxiousness would be at the highest it had ever been. Her license in hand, she walked up to the counter to fill out the paperwork and start the process of her tattoo.
As she focused on signing waivers and filling personal information out (any allergies, medications she might have taken, the last time she had a drink, etc.), her breath began to calm and her anxiety began to subside. This calmness remained until her artist came out, saying “I’m all set up now, come on back.”
This tattoo would be her first large one, the other two being small and done in less than an hour. Tattooing wasn’t something she entered into lightly either. After doing much research on tattooing and possible risks/complications that may or may not come with the decision, she then took the next step of finding a studio she felt would do a great job and leave her satisfied with the work. Once finding a great shop, she then spent time getting to know the work of each of the artists by word of mouth as well as looking through their portfolios. As soon as she saw John’s work and intense focus on detail, there was nobody else that she would even consider. Tattoos are life-long decisions, ones where the slightest mistake can stay with you forever and she wasn’t willing to settle for anything mediocre.
Trust with her artist was important for so many reasons, all being reason’s for why she had decided to only have him be her tattoo artist. Being able to not only trust the permanent work of her artist but to also feel comfortable enough to become somewhat exposed for the placement of her tattoo was vital in calming her nerves enough to lay on the tattoo table and to stop shaking. The razor left a hint of coolness as it pulled across her back, John shaving the area to prepare for the next part: the needles. As she laid on her stomach, a sense of excitement surged through her when the sound of the vibrating needle entered the room.
For the next four and a half hours, so many emotions and sensations coursed through her body. As the needle first began to drag across her bare skin, a hint of tingling and a slight sting began. The sting was surprisingly almost enjoyable when combined with the adrenaline setting in, having a sensation that is almost impossible to understand without ever actually experiencing it. The aroma of metal and ink tickled the hairs of her nostrils as John continued making her design become a part of her, an aroma that would stay with her for quite awhile even after finished.
As the session hit the third hour, the tingle remained but a sensation of burning began to set in. The stress her body was beginning to show and the adrenaline was starting to fade, breaking down the once enjoyable balance. Each time he lifted the tattoo gun to apply ointment for comfort, she would think to herself “Is he almost done?” It was his intense detailing that had drawn her to his work, but at that moment she had wished he would just get it over with.
Even though John was trying to bring relief by saying “I’m almost done, just a little longer,” it made her almost feel worse because she started to let the stress put on her body begin to set in. When a person has been sitting through a tattoo for hours and knows that the session will soon be over, the body somehow has the adrenaline shut off because the body begins to slightly shake as it sets back into the reality of the pain. She did everything she could to keep from shaking, but a shiver would break out every now and then in hopes to relieve some of the burn. Moments later, in the corner of her eye she could see him putting cleaning solution on a paper towel and a smile took over her face. It was over, and now all she could feel was excitement for the ointment he was about to rub all over the stinging flesh of her back.
Her hand shook as she tried to sign the credit card receipt, having to stop for a second just to take a breath and calm her nerves. Her body was feeling the tattoo and lack of adrenaline in full effect now, and all she could think to herself was “of course they have me pay when I can barely hold the pen, haha.” After her and John talked about caring for the fresh ink, a feeling of relief and satisfaction consumed her as she walked to her car, her stomach growling from hunger instead of butterflies this time. She pulled off while keeping her body from touching the back of her seat, going straight through the drive-thru and ready to start the healing of her new and amazing piece of art.