52:25 Inked up Potter style

I have been debating getting a tattoo for several years now. I have always wanted one - and more than that, I have always wanted a lightening bolt inspired by Jo Rowling's Harry Potter novels - but I was waiting for the right moment. The moment when you wake up one day and just know: 'today is the day'.

That day was today.

I am now freshly inked (I've been told this is the correct lingo) with an 1.5 inch lightening bolt placed between my Achilles tendon and ankle of my right foot. And I love it.




So the question everyone asks is of course: 'did it hurt?' And the answer is yes and no... the feeling isn't painful so much as highly irritating. I thought of it much like a cat scratching you very slowly. Of course my tattoo only took 3 minutes so I didn't really get a chance to feel what it was really like. In addition I also have a really bad nerve pain and joint pains which, to be perfectly honest, are much more horrible than getting a tattoo. So if the only thing holding you back is the pain... believe me; it will be fine.

If the only thing holding you back is being unsure abut what you want then my personal advice is to do what I did and wait for the right moment. But then again I am admittedly not that 'bad ass' so I am sure my rule wouldn't apply for everyone.

As I said, I have wanted a lightening bolt since I first wanted a tattoo. The placement has changed but the symbol itself has been a constant. It was only after several months of knowing I definitely wanted it on my ankle that I went ahead and did it (I didn't want to get it tattooed on my forehead only to change my mind three hours later).

The other question I assume people will ask is why the lightening bolt? The lightening bolt means two things to me:

1. It is a reference to Harry Potter. I know that non-fans won't understand this but Harry Potter changed my life. It made me think about the value of my friendships, the meaning of family, the power of love and above all, the importance of making choices in life. Sounds corny, I know, but this leads into the second thing...

2. For the past several years I have finally understood how all of the things Potter taught me apply to my life. It struck me that friends made over Youtube can be the best friends you can ever have, that true love doesn't know distance or time, that being me is okay... that I am not the loser I was convinced I was in high school... that I am strong, confident and I am proud of who I am and what I love in life. This realization hit me like a bolt of lightening one day, and I have not looked back since.


Tell me in the comments about your tattoos or ideas for one. My next tattoo will be a Golden Snitch flying across my upper hip. But that is a story for a different time.