So…I finally did it. I got my first tattoo. Of course, I had to dedicate it to my all time favorite band Linkin Park. I had a family friend do it for my 16th birthday although I’m still 15 as I type this article.

I had been brainstorming this tattoo for a few months. I’ve known since last year that I wanted to get a tattoo for my 16th birthday, but I never really knew what I specifically wanted. 3 or 4 months ago I decided what I wanted: a Linkin Park tattoo. Something about the band’s music really resonates with me and I can listen to them forever. It only felt right to get the tattoo to also honor of the band’s frontman Chester Bennington who died of suicide in 2017. It’s genuinely the only celebrity death that really hits me hard. The tattoo itself is the “Hybrid Theory” soldier. It’s my second favorite album of all time so it makes perfect sense to get it marked on my body forever. Now, let’s talk about the pain level. I have to admit that I was nervous going into all of this. I made sure to have a full stomach and consume some sugar prior to the tattoo session. The pain of the needle going through my skin really wasn’t that bad. It’s a tattoo so, of course, it’s going to hurt. But the pain is tolerable if that makes sense. The way I would describe it is repetitive bee stinging with scratching and burning being thrown into the mix, but a little more extreme. The closer it got towards the “elbow pit”, the more it hurt. It’s not really a pain that has you screaming on the inside but it’s definitely not comfortable either.

This was the best birthday gift I could ever ask for. I walked out of there feeling like a new person. This is only the beginning of my tattoo history as I plan on getting many, many more in the future.