The Inked Perspective

“Consequences are unpitying.” – George Eliot

As someone with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, I like to cap my perfectly normal night with a pleasant game of “Well, time to focus on what you’ve done” for the next several hours. Most folks might focus on that cringe moment in school, the phrase you shouldn’t have said at grandma’s funeral, or other moments in life that directed them onto a new path. For those of us with tattoos, especially noticeable ones, this question of consequences tends to come and go.

Most heavily tattooed people I have talked to have at least one tattoo that they regret. It may have been done poorly, may not have been thought through enough, or in a moment of hilarity has become the reason that they wear shirts to the pool. Again, this is a general statement, not an analytical finding (so don’t quote me).

Let me be clear, I’ve never wanted to work a white-collar job. I’ve worked retail, restaurants (BOH for life), and currently am in upper management of a cannabis company. When I started getting my hands, neck, and head tattooed the question from the artist was always the same: “You sure you want this?”. Any of my “job-stoppers” were thought through and are very personal to me, so my answer was always “Yes”. Even with all of the forethought, the research, talking to other artists and heavily tatted folks; I still find myself occasionally questioning my choices.

Seriously, I’ve got both sides of my head done and there’s moments where I’m worried if I lost my job tomorrow, no one will hire me. I’ll be stuck working minimum paying jobs for the rest of my existence, hopefully making enough to support my family. What am I going to do if this all doesn’t work out? Was getting this heavily tattooed a stupid idea and I’ve just become a glutton for punishment?

The answer is no, everything will be fine, just take a deep breath Captain Kookoo.

When I was working at a pawn shop, there used to be a heavily tattooed customer who would come buy various guns and tools. He was always polite, respectful, and carried himself with an air of authority. One day we got to talking and he brought up how he was taking his friends out on the lake in his new boat. I asked him what he did for work (construction) and if his tattoos ever got in the way of him finding clients. While I hate to give this a Hallmark movie moment, there’s no better way to describe what he said next: “It’s all how you carry yourself. If you’re respectful, polite, and know what you’re talking about people don’t care what you look like”.

That has stuck with me, even though I haven’t been at that job in a decade. Whenever I get a cross comment or look from someone at the store, I remember that I know who I am and all I can do is be polite, respectful, and know what I’m talking about. Nine times out of ten, those looks change to conversation and the cross comments become laughs. “Yes, that hurt. No, I haven’t been to prison. (Although recently I have told people being mean that I served time in Azkaban)”.

At the end of the day, there’s no changing what has been done. All I can do is look at my resume’, remember what I have already accomplished, and present myself as a professional first and a tattoo collector second. Besides, I wouldn’t want to work at a bank or be a lawyer. I might run for President, though, now that anything is possible.

Don’t stress out, everything is ok. Be a good human and things will work out on their own.

Be polite, respectful, and don’t talk about what you don’t know.

Or start a blog and say whatever. The world is your oyster, kid.

xoxo

Jake