so for my first tattoo...
 

i'm thinking i want to get a tattoo, something that will be symbolic in my living alone for 6 months-ish while kaz is at basic training for the air force. i'm trying to find something that means like strength, growth, independence, freedom even. i'm putting serious consideration into this before i go do it but i need something that i can just look at and remember why i'm doing what i'm doing and to be happy and positive.

i'm looking at bird tattoos. i'm mostly looking at sparrows and swallows, and i've been trying to find differences between the two online, but i get to one website where they describe swallows as a certain thing, then i go to another website and they start describing sparrows as the other website described swallows. its all very confusing and the names are kind of similar but they're different.

anyways, i guess i was just wondering everyone's take on what i should get and why. it doesn't have to be a bird tattoo that you're suggesting, just should be symbolic of the things i mentioned above. and if you could add a cool picture to what you're talking about, that'd be nice. probably should be in black and white, since adding color to the tattoo costs more money. also i'm wondering like the price range for tattoos, if it goes by how big the tattoo is, how much detail you do, how much colors cost, etc. thanks! :D

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_...ttoo_symbolize

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_th...ttoo_symbolize

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_tatto..._'strength'

And i just thought of this, although i think it would look takky. You want to symbolize freedom, strength, independence well. When you dont have all that what do you have? A weight on your shoulder? Burdens on your chest? Shackles on your ankels? You could you somehow you breaking free of all of that, with like a reminence of a broken shackle on your ankle. Granted it isnt your girlie girl tatoo but i think it symbolizes alot and when you show and explain it to people they would understand.

Personally I think it would be funny if you just tattood some random guy's name on yourself.

I don't personally think "strength" when I see a bird. A couple of intertwined dragons could be taken as a symbol of strength, but not so much independence or any of the others.

Maybe a bonzai tree with a single bird flying near it. I think that would pretty much encompass all of the things you're looking for.

So you're definitely getting a tatoo? I'd rethink that. Tatoos are unnattractive and get in the way when you age. And where would you put it anyways?

i'm not sure if a dragon would look good on me, i guess it could i just think that would look more like an asian tattoo or something lol, i'm probably wrong. anyways, i'm such a girly girl, i should probably just get a flower or butterfly tattoo :P

well i was thinking on my foot at first but its one of the most painful areas to get one. basically the tattoo would be to remind me of the time i spent alone and to make me stay positive. i should get it somewhere i can see it, that way its a reminder every day of how i should be feeling. probably on my wrist or ankle or something. i definitely dont want a tramp stamp lol, i like shoulder tattoos but itd be hard for me to see it if it was there. i like back of the neck tattoos too but same situation with that one.

I'm planning on getting a Flying Spaghetti Monster tattoo once I find the time to design one.

Fact

It's hard to find on the internet exactly what you are looking for. I recommend you take alot of time and work a design out on your own. Something that to you says independent, strong, free and the growth of your inner self. The design doesnt have to be engineered quality (shit they cant draw anyway). The tattooist will draw it up perfectly the way you want it. That is your best bet.

you know that i have no creative talent, i can't just draw up what i'm thinking i want. i should probably go to a tattoo parlor and look through their books or something. i'm not creative enough to think of something unique, i may as well just look through their books, even if its on the chance that someone else has the exact same thing. i'm not looking to be unique, i just want something symbolizing the things i need to be.

you dont have to have a creative bone in your body for this excercise. when you think of the symbolism you want, what do you see?

well i see a lot of things but i want just one thing to mean everything i want. i'm pretty sure i want an animal but its like every animal tattoo i look up only means like one of the many things i want my tattoo to mean. i don't know lol.

well take the animal that mostly means 2 things, and then add wings to it - now you have a mythological animal that can mean w/e u want ;)

I've been doing some research for my father because he wants to get tribal armbands with my sister's and my name on them.

Personally, I think I'm going to get a small grouping of cat tails in a marsh-like scene somewhere with my mother's initials under it. And I've always wanted to get devil wings on my back.

Nautica star.

I never was fond of those.

i actually think i'm gonna get a phoenix, kaz linked a cool picture to me that i think would go on the back of one of my shoulders or something, i also really want to put it on my foot instead but that'd be more painful... but phoenix's represent strength, resilience, overcoming adversity, renewal and rebirth, courage, immortality, grace, virtue, duty, goodness, kindness, and reliability. now i just need to go to a tattoo place and figure out how much it'd cost lol.

Too many people have them, I think they look cool, but they are defiantely overused with people these days..

So is Kanji, imo.

yeah i won't get any type of foreign language tattoos because it could end up meaning something else in the same language or something weird or gross in another language >.<

Or you could always do your research.
http://jisho.org/kanji/radicals/
There are a lot of factors that make kanji tattoos attractive, which I guess is why they're pretty common.