Maybe it’s my goodie-two shoes reputation or my good-girl attitude, but never once have I approved of people getting tattoos.

I, of course, had numerous reasons for believing a tattoo was a dumb idea.

First off, it looks like it would be rather painful. Your skin is, after all, being drawn on with a scary sort-of needle-like thing. That’s way different than the Sharpies people use to doodle on their arms with.

Also, it’s permanent. That means an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend’s initials tattooed on your side aren’t going to disappear. Explaining a heart with random initials to your next boyfriend (or girlfriend) may be difficult. Not to mention, it will probably leave you feeling either regretful or sad whenever you look at it.

Then, the whole aging process doesn’t seem like it will fare well for a tattoo. There is absolutely, positively nothing appealing about a tattoo that has become wrinkly and stretched out over time. I’d be embarrassed to be seen with it. Maybe it’s just me, but an old lady with a lower back tattoo, it’s not a look I want to go for or a visual I want to see.

I was also super uncomfortable seeing people with random colors and symbols on their body. I never knew how to react because I was intimidated. A big, muscular guy walking around with a symbol on his forearm isn’t an inviting look to me.

I assumed these people with ‘tats’ were rebelling either against uptight parents or society.  It was a way to look and seem tough to everyone else.

So, as you can see, I was never one in favor of the whole tattoo business. The keyword in that sentence: was.

This year has become the fateful year that I contradicted everything I once thought and changed my mind – completely. Yup, I want a tattoo.

What caused this change of heart? It started with hearing what my cousin was going to be doing this upcoming year.

Her father passed away a few years ago, but instead of feeling sad about it, she has chosen to see it in a positive light and know he is always there with her. To show this, his image is going to be tattooed on her foot with the words “I’m watching over you,” in his handwriting. It’s a reminder that her dad will always be there.

When I heard my cousin’s story behind her tattoo, I realized that these people with tattoos all over their bodies aren’t necessarily in the wrong and I shouldn’t have been judging the decisions they’d made. There is a story behind them. A meaning. Some sort of significance.

It’s kind of cool, when you put it in perspective. To know that some aspect of a person’s life touched him or her so deeply that they want to put it on their body forever. That says a lot about the individual, and in a good way.

So, why not make a statement about myself for everybody else to see.

I’d really like to have an anchor on my ankle, and potentially the lyrics, “I refuse to sink,” from a song by The Wonder Years.

The anchor is to depict that we all have our metaphoric ‘anchors’ or things that weigh us down. There are always going to be challenges we face in life; they are a part of us. I want to acknowledge this anchor and – in a weird way – thank it. This anchor is part of my initiative to be strong. I refuse to sink.

No, I’m not in favor of a lower back tattoo on my body, or some future boyfriend’s initials. However, I would gladly take an anchor or key, but the key’s another story.

This has led me to the conclusion that there is absolutely nothing wrong with tattoos, so long as it’s very well thought out and there’s some sort of meaning behind it. So go crazy, get inked and share your story.