Tomorrow, I will join the ranks of the visibly tattooed. Given that I am up late thinking about this, I obviously have some mixed feelings on the subject.

The tattoo will be on my left forearm. It will be low enough on my arm that a 3/4 sleeve length shirt may cover it, but likely not. I will officially have to wear long sleeves when I meet with people who wouldn’t approve of my tattoo. Who would that be?

Well that’s what I’ve spent some time thinking about tonight. Will clients choose not to work with me because of my tattoo? Will colleagues judge me or think less of me? Will I miss opportunities because of being judged, and not even know it? Am I limiting myself in some way, even a way in which I may never realize, by getting this tattoo?

The conclusion I have come to is that I don’t really WANT to work with clients or colleagues who are going to not work with me just because of my choice to have a tattoo. I am quite sure if people are put off by the tattoo, it would only be a very short matter of time before they were thoroughly offended by me in other ways as well.

I will admit though, that I am having a little bit of a difficult time crossing this line. I have always, in the past, tended toward the more reserved public face. I did this in order to provide for myself the maximum amount of opportunity in the world. This tattoo is definitely a departure from that approach. I wonder if this will lead to other departures from my perception of what constitutes societal normality.

Will I regret having the tattoo in a place that is more difficult to hide? Will people think I’m a freak for wearing a long sleeved shirt in 90 degree humid weather? I wonder how often I will even be in a situation where I’d want to hide my tattoo. Will there be some occasion where I want to wear some perfect dress, except it’s sleeveless and I have to be able to hide my tattoo? SHOULD people ever put themselves in situations where they have to hide their body art?

I’m very excited about it, too. I love seeing ink on other people, and I have four other tattoos that I don’t get to see when I’m wearing clothes. I look forward to being able to see my body art right in front of me, whenever I look down. I have heard all the standard arguments against tattoos. The most worn of the arguments is likely the most used: will you regret it (when you’re old, later, at some point, when you’re over that particular thing…)? My thought on tattoos is that you should a) always find a good artist so you don’t end up with crappy ink, b) never get them on a whim — think about what you’re wanting to get and really dwell on it for a while before doing it, c) get something that you actually really like or that has meaning to you (not some shitty flash art you found on the wall at the tattoo parlor five minutes ago), and d) don’t regret it. Even tattoos that represented something that was important to you 10 years ago, but which may not be important to you now, are still little depictions of memories.

Not that anyone asked me to defend tattoos. I’ve diverged from my original topic. Onward to the land of visible tattoos.

I like to people watch. I sit back from the crowd at places like airports and concerts, and consider the people who pass. Often when I’m doing this, I consider the way people look. I mostly look at how they present themselves: their clothes, makeup, hair, how they walk, how they gesture or talk, how they interact with their surroundings. As is demonstrated in <a href=”http://current.com/items/89199963_sexy-girls-have-it-easy.htm”>this video from Current TV</a>, people who are dressed nicely, with their hair and make up neat and tidy, have easier lives. They get perks and benefits, and are treated differently than someone who is less “put together”.

I’m not a neat and tidy person. I’ve often considered *why* I’m not that person. I’ve tried makeup, neat and tidy perfect hair, and perfectly pressed clothes. I hate it all. So why do I still contemplate what it would be like to be perceived as someone like that? I think it is probably because I think of the neat and tidy people as having their lives together, simply because they *look* together. I had a realization recently though, as I walked barefooted through the airport. I imagined what people must be thinking about me as I walked by with my naked toes and long shorts. All kinds of critical comments came to mind. And then I realized that I was happy. I felt fantastic, NOT running through an airport hurriedly in my heals, and not worrying about my dress getting messed up as I traveled. My feet felt fantastic on the cold tile, and I felt light and relatively care-free.

I’m not a neat and tidy person, and without a whole lot of work, I never will be. I am someone who prefers to be barefooted, a little ruffled, way more laid back, and ready and able to play on the playground with my kid or have an impromptu wrestling match with my friends. Sure, that may mean I don’t get things for free because people don’t see me as “together,” and it may mean that people think I’m a freak for being barefoot in a public place. But who cares? At least I’m not in heels and feeling miserable!