I really thought it out and I love my tattoo. I got mine (on my ankle) after I received my black belt in karate and it says black belt in Chinese.

Sent by Bonita | 3:25 PM ET | 08-02-2007

I got my first tattoo when I was 34 while visiting my tattooed brother and sister-in-law in Seattle. I had a cherry blossom tattooed behind my right ear--a variation on the rose I'd coveted for twenty years. It took 20 years for me to work up the courage and I don't regret it at all. I am, however, more cautious about showing it (especially when I was going on job interviews) since I've moved to the east coast from Arizona, where tattoos and piercings are absolutely commonplace. I notice a big difference in the number and visibility of tattoos and piercings where I currently live--a far more conventional, small-town environment. It's not surprising but I stand out a little more here than in Arizona. Nevertheless, I get lots of compliments and I'm really proud of my tattoo and feel that it truly fits me aesthetically and my perception of who I am.

Sent by Micah | 3:28 PM ET | 08-02-2007

I have 11 tattoos and know that I'll never regret a single one of them.
I started getting them at 18 and am now 34. In fact, during a difficult and uncertain part of my life I tried to deny who I was, and "fit in" by hiding my tattoos. Now, THAT was something I ended up regretting very much, and have since gotten some hard to hide tattoos, just so I'm never tempted to deny such an essential part of myself again.

I think that if you know exactly who you are when you get your tattoos, and tattoos are part of that, you'll never regret it.

I think that those who regret their tattoos tend to be those who get their tattoos as part of a fluid search of who they are, and then they find out later that the tattoos really are NOT who they are.

Oh and 6 months isn't enough time to think about a tattoo. I thought about all my tattoos for at least 2 years before I had them applied.

Sent by Penny Pattison | 3:30 PM ET | 08-02-2007

I am a 28 year-old woman with a graduate degree in philosophy. I have
numerous tattoos on my arms and torso--all text--including quotes from
various authors such as Flannery O'Connor, Raymond Carver, and
Marguerite Duras, and, most notably THE HEISENBERG UNCERTAINTY
PRINCIPLE (of quantum physics). I regret none of them.

1) Few things shock a tattoo artist like asking for a physics equation
on one's arm!

2) All of my work has significant meaning for me.

3) I employ the One-Year Rule: I must want the same design in the same
place for 12 consecutive months before I get the work done.

Thanks for the show!

Sent by Tamara | 3:36 PM ET | 08-02-2007

As fads go I suppose tattoo-ing seems like a less painful alternative to jamming a spike in your tongue. But it is so, so boring. It seems like everyone is getting that "cute" little tat on the small of the back. Or the chinese symbol for whatever the virtue of the day is on the ankle. And, unfortunately for us baby boomers, it is rapidly becoming the "I-don't-want-to-grow-old-so-save-me" trend of the day. More "edgy" than just buying the sports car or wearing the mini skirt. But just as cliched.

Sent by George from Oregon | 3:45 PM ET | 08-02-2007

I wanted to design my own tattoo and I was fortunate enough to be able to work with a tattoo artist who supported me in this. My tattoo represents my name and is tribal in design--all black. It is the outer aspect of my left lower calf. This was a deeply personal act on my part, and I do not regret it. Occasionally people will notice it, and seem very surprised that I have a tattoo. When I tell them that I got it at age 40, I follow it up with this remark: "I decided that at age 40, I knew what I could live with the rest of my life." It did not hurt to have it done. I describe it as feeling like I was being written on with a ball point pen--a slightly uncomfortable feeling, but no pain.

Sent by Pamela | 3:48 PM ET | 08-02-2007

Tattoos are like hemorrhoids, eventually you'll want to have them removed. Actually the pictures from my colonoscopy are very artistic looking, perhaps a new art form.

Sent by Stan Yodz (yodz, rhymes with toads) | 4:28 PM ET | 08-02-2007

I got my first tattoo at age 41, just a few months ago. I am a professional working in a technical field with an advanced degree. I thought about it for several years before getting it. I wanted to commemorate the passing of a special soul in my life, my dog. We found each other through luck and were together through very difficult times for both of us (me emotionally, him physically). His passing broke my heart and I miss him dearly. I originally wanted a small paw but was lucky enough to find an artist willing to do a portrait of his face. I now carry his likeness with me always. It is beautiful and I feel it protects me the way he did in life. It is on my calf so I show it when I choose and not at work. The only alienation it has caused is with my father who doesn't believe nice girls get tattoos. If he knew the comfort it gives me, I think he would see it differently.

Sent by Cheryl | 5:31 PM ET | 08-02-2007

I have often wondered what these people who get "sleeves" or tattoos on their face (ala Mike Tyson) will feel about them 20 or 30 years from now. when their kids (considering that the tattoo fad will wane) ask why their mom has some shriveled looking-like-it-used-to-be-a rose in her cleavage. or why dad always wears long sleeve shirts all the time.

Sent by tim | 6:17 PM ET | 08-02-2007

I don't regret a single inch of my art, but I don't get impulse art either. For my first piece, I spent several years deciding on the design and several more years selecting my artist. For my newest work, I again researched and debated for several years. When I found the artist I wanted (Paul Roe in DC), I had to wait more than 4 years to get into his studio (my schedule, not his). I could've gone to another artist, but I waited because he was the right artist. No impulse. No regret.

I see it like this: I can commission a piece of art to hang on a wall or I can commission it to wear on my body. I choose those pieces of art and artist with care because this art isn't something I can sell if I were to tire of it. Tattooing is not a temporary commitment.

Neither is tattooing an act of rebellion. It's part of a long history. It's narrative art for particular personal or spiritual (or both) reasons. For me, that means my art is not on public display. Unless I choose to share it, it's not visible to anyone but my spouse and my tattoo artist.

It's an art with centuries of amazing history, and I can't imagine why one would regret having beautiful art.

Sent by Melissa Marr | 7:10 PM ET | 08-02-2007

I've been an environmentalist as long as I can remember. I started doodling tattoo ideas in the seventh grade after an environmental club t-shirt sale. It wasn't until I was 19 studying abroad that I actually got it although it had evolved from that seventh grade doodle much like I had. I know have three tattoo all of which have a specific and special meaning to me. I have an appointment next week to get work done on the little wood nymph on my back. Thank for talking about this, now I have a little more clout with my pop, after all NPR only covers serious things!

Sent by Simone Cifuentes | 7:17 PM ET | 08-02-2007

When I was 19 years old, I went and got a tattoo. In fact, 3 of my roommates went together to get them. I had wanted a dolphin tattoo since I was 14 and no one in my family believed that I would ever go through with it. Well, imagine my parents surprise when their lovely daughter sent them pictures of the procedure...(i was too afraid to tell them in person or over the phone) Sixteen years later I still love my tatto and do no regret the decision at all. The location is discreet and the design still looks great after all of these years. The best advice that I received before the tattoo was from the artist. He let us know that he had a guarantee for "30 days after death"....really hit home that this is forever!

Sent by Danielle | 10:14 PM ET | 08-02-2007

I have one tattoo that takes up most of my back. I got it when I was 44. I can honestly say I wasn't comfortable enough in my own skin till now to get a tattoo. I can't imagine myself without it.
I spent a lot of my younger years listening to what other people said I should look like, and act like, and do and be. Now I don't give a crap what other people say.

By the way, I'm a 45 yr old female RN with 17 yrs of experience.

Sent by JC | 11:45 AM ET | 08-03-2007

I have two tiny blue dot tattoo I got this year when undergoing breast cancer radiation, so the technician can align the rad rays every day. They are more than I ever wanted, and plenty enough!

Sent by Carolyn Wesner | 4:17 PM ET | 08-03-2007

I got my first tattoo at 30, but started getting tattooed at 38. Because of my profession and the fact that my tattoos are for me personally and not to show off, they are easily hidden by a t-shirt and shorts. Although I grew up in a household that shunned tattoos, I secretly always wanted them.

Sent by Dan Morgan from Milton, Mass | 11:58 AM ET | 08-04-2007

My husband and I just got matching tattoos in celebration of 20 years of marriage. They were firsts for both of us and we took over a year of serious consideration before having them done. We're both professionals with advanced degrees and in our 40's. The design we settled on included aspects of marriage, our shared faith, and love of all things Celtic.

Sent by N Dundon | 5:03 PM ET | 08-07-2007

I've been doing tattoos for about18 years know they are facinating, intrieging, spiritual. i love to receive the work and do the work on others. for me tattoo's are'nt regretable ex-cept for names. never get some ones name unless it's a family member. although i wish that i could erase what i have and start all over again. It's not painful to me either i really enjoy the way it feels, the memories of all the time takin or spent geting the tattoo's will last for ever.

Sent by j.p. | 3:37 PM ET | 09-12-2007

Its interesting how much the tattoo is a symbol of the individual--a gesture of defiance, of discovery, or confirmation. In this way it completely part of the American mythology of celebrated and singular individualism. Yet what is striking is how the group identities granted by tattooing are absent in this program and largely in the comments. Where are the gangbangers, the bikers, punkers, the Marines with their unit crests and a snarling bulldog? It seems here that there is a strong disinclination to talk of the class differences that tattoos still demarcate--those of the prisoner or the enlisted soldier against that of the middle-aged associate professor or well-heeled professional. Its important to remember that for many people among us, tattoos are not just a small secret bit of ink tucked under the skin to demonstrate some profound self-realization or recall a wild teenage moment, but a determined hold on meaning and histories etched into the skin that cannot, despite violence and suffering, be taken away.

Sent by threadbare | 7:37 AM ET | 11-14-2007