5 am, Tattoo Reflection...

It's 5 am, I haven't slept a wink, and I just got our dog out of the neighbors trash(he's an escape artist). Walking into our office for a cigarette, I realize that my hands still smell like hair bleach(I've been up putting highlights in my fiance's hair). I look down at my arms and realize for once, in a long time, how very many tattoo's cover my arms. Now, don't get me wrong I have some that I absolutely love and would never get rid of, but I also have a few that I have no idea why I ever got.
They are a permanent part of your skin(unless of course you'd rather have laser scars instead), tattoo's are wonderful and terrible like that.
You get some that at the time seem like they're just what you were looking for and you end up with a couple that you really did want and want to keep. It's true what they say, once you get one it's hard to stop. But, you'll end up with a few that were just a "phase".
I would suggest to anyone planning on getting a tattoo to think it out long and hard, and I'd like to give you a top five list below of things to think about when getting one.

1. Do you want to memorialize a special person in your life? Never get an event(like the Columbine School Shootings, unless you were a victim or lost someone in the tragedy), because unless it's personal to you than it holds no real meaning.
2. Do I really want this on me for the rest of my life ? And, I'm not talking that 10 second moment of reflection, I'm talking about really truly thinking hard on this.
3. How is this going to look when I get older and my body gets wrinkles and starts to hang in places? No offense to anyone in the older crowd reading this, getting older is nothing to be ashamed of.
4. Is this something that I would be proud to show to others? Never get anything that you would be ashamed of or ashamed of someone else seeing.
5. Why am I getting this tattoo ? It's like the old sleep on it rule, if you get an idea for a tattoo, sleep a few nights on it, than decide if you really, truly do want that tattoo.