I think I was 10 or 11 when I realized that someday I would be covered in tattoos. Now, approaching the age of 24, my tattoo virginity long since lost, I feel compelled to share my point of view, and my experience.

The tattooed are stigmatized.

These attitudes are prominent enough that I feel the need to address them in brevity. It is often thought that those with tattoos are dirty, violent, and promiscuous. None of this is true. There is no uniform motivation to get a tattoo, nor are the tattooed a uniform group; they come from all walks of life and all states of mind.

As far as I’ve seen, there is only one difference between those with ink and those without: People who have tattoos generally don’t ask what someone else’s means since we’re tired of hearing the question ourselves.

There is a sentiment that since tattoos are permanent, they need to be profound, thought out for years and depict an element at one’s core. First-timers tend to believe unless these requirements are met, they will someday regret their ink. Experience has taught me better.

Although I agonized for months over my first tattoo — an acronym of the band I was in at the time — I have already outgrown it. And yet I do not lament the fact I will have “XTH” on my skin for the rest of my days. I am reminded of who I was and where I have been. That tattoo is a living record of formative experiences, experiences I might otherwise forget as I age. I take solace in knowing I will not become the old man who can’t remember what it was like to be a teenager.

A tattoo is more than a form of self-expression; it is a tether extending through time and space, anchored in the moment it was etched into flesh. People recall not only the symbolism of their tattoos, but also the places they lived, old friends and lovers, great victories and forsaken ambitions. Even little details, such as how the tattoo was paid for, are preserved in the mind by mark of ink.

You’ll hear people with tattoos tell you ink is addictive. It is. Despite the large expense and, for some, considerable level of pain involved in getting a tattoo, once it’s on you, you feel different. It’s like buying a desperately needed new wardrobe; your identity is embodied in your appearance when it wasn’t before.

But as you gaze upon your fresh ink, the area still shorn and raw, savor your satisfaction. It will soon bloom into a desire for more.

That said, I highly recommend anyone considering his or her first tattoo to go through with it. Even though you will pay for it with cash, blood and a piece of your social status, what you get in return is worth much more.