Hi Keltin

I came from a fairly orthodox Jewish background and I got disowned by some ppl when I got my first tattoo and my family made it clear they hated them.

That said I got my first tattoo at 26 – the reason for this was that everybody I knew who got a tattoo between the ages of 14-19 ended having them covered up. (I wanted tattoos that would last me forever and took me that long to decide).

They simply outgrew the tattoo or realised that there are much better tattoos to be had.

I can tell you why the state of Florida allows tattooing in some places at the age of 16 = $ – the tattooist should pay taxes and they know that if a person rushes in gets a tattoo off the wall they have a repeat customer.

Also the back is the biggest piece of canvas you have – do you really want to ruin that with a bit of tribal? Tattooing is addictive and rarely stops at one.

I am not saying you are too young for a tattoo what I am saying have you considered that tattooing is not an accessory – it is a life decision as they are a bastard to remove.

Despite how you feel about it your mother doesn’t want you to get something you will regret when you reach your 30’s.

My advice is pin that design up look at it everyday and wait until you are eighteen if you still love it get it done.

Take Care
Matthew

yeah my parants didnt like tats or piercings but i mean i did it anyways and the more i got the more they just said oh well he isnt going to stop…im not saying for you to go and do it…just sharing my little story

they still dont like my plugs in my ears..hah

I’d wait, at your age you’re still finding out who you are and what lifes about, think about job opportunites in the future as well, it seems to me you want a tattoo for the sake of having a tattoo as you’re not completely sure on what you want…..that leads me to think wait….. i turn people down in my studio that want a tattoo just because they can, maybe money walking out the door for me but i’m talking from experience of having fucked up bad tattoos on my body because i just thought i’d get some.

my mum and dad are quite cool about it , my father likes my wings and tells all his friends about them and my mum just says i dont like them but its your body .

when my nana was here she used to always have a go about them but she learnt to get past hating them and just used to say im a big fairy 😀

Originally my parents were against tattoos (I guess there was more of a stigma around them when they grew up).

I told my parents I was getting one, and although they didn’t approve, I got it anyway.

I continued to get it added to without them knowing, and eventually they grew to like the work I had on me!

Your mum should love you unconditionally, and hopefully a tattoo won’t change that.

Saying that, maybe getting something a bit more lowkey would be a better approach? I don’t think a tribal sleeve would be the best way of easing your mum in to your new hobby! Get one hidden under clothing maybe?

Great advice!! 😎

Please don’t take the following as any negativity towards you, nor do I want to sound like a grumpy grandfather. This is a very short abbreviation of the last decade+.

When I was 17 I knew everything. I was smart. I was brilliant. I was an awesome driver.

When I was 19, I had spent 2 years on school studying loads of stuff I didn’t know before. I knew everything and was even smarter, and I had had 15 car ‘incidents’. I was a much better driver then (having done some 100.000 miles of driving) and decided I’d like to buy a gorgeous old muscle car that needed heaps of repairs. My mother said talked me out of it, and I got a cheap’n’sturdy instead.

When I was 21, I had spent 2 more years in school, learning yet more new things. I still knew absolutely everything, had had a couple more car incidents and totaled my cheap’n’sturdy. I was glad it wasn’t the priceless muscle car!

When I was 25, I was a certified Electrician, having finished some 6 years of high-school, all the time learning new things. I had also, by that point, started to realize that I didn’t know everything. I was surely bright, but I was cocky and arrogant. I was a decent driver, but no more. I had made countless mistakes and my mother stopped me from making countless more.

I am 30 today. I have finally found where I want to be in life. I have found my passions, my employment and my place to live. I’m SOOO far from knowing everything but what I DO know for sure is that when I was 17 I practically knew nothing at all!
I regret a huge amount of things that I did when I was younger and smarter, but at the same time my mistakes made me into the man I am today and taught me to be humble and smart. I would definitely change a couple of major errors if I could (stuff that caused only pain and no healing) but overall I like having made mistakes.

The point of this digression is this: You are 17. The world is yours for the taking. You will accomplish great things and make heaps of good decisions that better you and those around you. You will also make stupid decisions that will cause you mental or physical harm. You will cause others pain as you cause yourself misery. You will (hopefully) live to regret some of the things you’ve done.
This is when your character will finally come through as you discover how you deal with all these things.

If you really really really really want a tattoo, take your time in picking what you want to have and think it through a bit. Get the artist to draw it up for you and think it over some more. Then discuss this with your mother, even if only to hear her tell you it’s a stupid idea, and then proceed to tell her you’re doing it anyway. You will feel emboldened and powerful for standing up to her and doing something YOU want to do.

Just keep in mind that when you’re discussing things with your mother and you disagree on something, you may very well find out in later years that she was 100% spot on right about it… mothers usually are 🙂