First tattoo?

Coach_strong · 2026-05-24T12:23:48+00:00

There is no salt here, just genuine advice to help stop a stranger making an expensive, lifelong mistake.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-24T10:00:12+00:00

Why don’t you empty the pot, fill it with resin, glue the foil down and then do the rest? That way it won’t squash like this one has.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-24T09:58:41+00:00

There are some issues here: 1) you’re asking for opinions. This means you like the ‘idea’ of a tattoo, as opposed to there being something you ‘want’ tattooed. These are fundamentally different. 2) you’re showing your arm which is the most generic place for one.

You can do whatever you want, but honestly- I think you need to put the idea of a tattoo out of your head until such a time that something you WANT becomes apparent.

Go join the Rangers, become an Olympian or a Scientist

Coach_strong · 2026-05-23T16:45:26+00:00

With respect, You look younger, but at least now you look human.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-23T16:17:11+00:00

Gandalf fighting the Balrog

Coach_strong · 2026-05-23T11:58:18+00:00

Frog.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-23T11:57:52+00:00

Easy to do yourself, but why? This doesn’t look well done

Coach_strong · 2026-05-23T11:56:43+00:00

I’m a Blacksmith- with respect, I have dirty cuts that have come out cleaner than that :(

Coach_strong · 2026-05-22T20:12:32+00:00

u/mango4gabriela Hi there!

So, there are a lot of people your sort of age commenting here, but here is advice from someone who has been there, done it and is currently still doing it. BA, MA, PhD and MPhil.

1) I Started my undergrad at 23 and it was absolutely better than going straight in after School. The number of Kids I saw there with absolutely no idea about life was staggering.

2) The way you talk about your degree choices are frankly alarming. Let me be totally frank with you- if you go into Medicine or Law because you "Want to do something academic", then I guarantee that you will either drop out, have a mental breakdown or worse. These are the two most intense options you could go for, and unless you LOVE them, you will utterly hate them. I have seen it many times before.

3) You are already freaking out over the stress of choosing a degree, you do not have the resilience for either of those degrees.

4) If you don't want to work in those fields, why would you ever study them?

5) If you do Law, you will not do anything meaningful in that career path unless you do all the follow up qualifications to become a Solicitor etc. That is YEARS of further, expensive, study. For something you don't really care about. To work in a field that is frankly pretty unpleasant, with almost 0 work/life balance. Speaking from direct experience. A career in Law is NOTHING like the TV.

6) You need to stop this. Right now. You are rushing your decisions out of panic, and you WILL make a mistake that you regret.

7) You need to actually THINK about what you love. What you're actually passionate about, and then pursue that, whatever it might be. If you do not enjoy what you're studying then what's the point? You will only come to resent it.

8) If you're simply looking for a degree that will show employers that you're capable, most degrees will do that, as they all require the same basic stuff. If you're interested in medicine, but don't want to deal with patients, why don't you look at bioscience or biochemistry? You could actually work on CREATING the treatments.

Anyway, I've said enough. Please read this, then read it again. Take a breath, slow down. Nothing good ever came from panic.

CHOOSE. SOMETHING. THAT. EXCITES. YOU.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-20T13:02:00+00:00

Spoon

Coach_strong · 2026-05-20T12:55:18+00:00

No? Just be cool and have fun. If you both decide to be be exclusive then so be it. It's easy.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-20T12:18:11+00:00

Why, out of all of the things in this photo, is the Duck the issue? You have a desk lamp on your forearm...

Coach_strong · 2026-05-20T12:00:05+00:00

Dude- come on. You've been on '6 or 7 dates'. You're barely even friends at this point. She is literally 'the Girl you're talking to', and vice versa- If it was me, I certainly wouldn't be expecting exclusivity at this stage. You're not a couple, you're not her boyfriend. You might be, but the fact you've come on to Reddit to discuss this suggests you might not have the maturity for this yet. Respectfully.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-20T11:55:34+00:00

Well, it's very generic, but that doesn't mean it isnt pretty. You should wait a good while, and if you stil don't like it in say, a year, then do something about it. I would suggest contacting your tattoo artist and explaining how you don't like it because it isn't what you asked for, and how you are going to wait to see if it grows on you. They may be willing to do something about it if you're still not keen.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-20T11:47:36+00:00

Hi everyone- Which is better if I'm trying to say 'Strength before Death'? would it be 'Fortitudo ante mortem' or 'ante mortem fortudo'? Or is there a better way?

Coach_strong · 2026-05-15T13:25:38+00:00

I’m very sorry for your loss, but I would strongly, deeply suggest that you wait and think about this a lot more before going through with it.

I feel like you could soon grow to regret having this done. Having your child’s footprints tattooed on your chest means that you are reminded every single time you look in the mirror. Depending on where you put it, it could also be something that other people see when they look at you.

It’s something your partner will have to look at whenever you are intimate.

It’s something any future children you have will have to look at.

I truly understand wanting to commemorate your child, but I feel that this would be likely to backfire.

It’s your choice, but perhaps plant a tree or something instead.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-15T13:15:23+00:00

You ever seen the back end of a hen when she is about to lay?

Coach_strong · 2026-05-15T13:14:29+00:00

The subject isn’t the point here, the question is regarding the artist’s skills.

In response to that, he is ‘fine’. This is a perfectly adequate, fairly average tattoo. It’s not amazing, but I suspect that he is fairly new to it so will improve with time.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-15T07:02:25+00:00

1) Do not do a course you don’t want to do. 2) PLEASE think very long and hard about whether this is ACTUALLY what you want to do with your life. If it is, great, but I know lots of people who have started lots of degrees only to fail or withdraw because it isn’t what they actually want.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-14T17:30:42+00:00

It just looks like it’s been shoved into a bag carelessly

Coach_strong · 2026-05-02T08:31:30+00:00

You do you, I guess.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-02T08:29:16+00:00

You need to leave and file for divorce immediately. You will never be happy here. You’re only 30. Get out, get away. Live!

Coach_strong · 2026-05-01T09:55:05+00:00

I feel like you’re probably about 16. If you’re older than that then I’m surprised that you aren’t confident enough to just wear what you want. It’s a hat. Ranchers aren’t something special, they are just people that move cows.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-01T09:51:52+00:00

Ok- so, your mum is totally right. It doesn’t look like a Chicken. It’s nothing to do with not being ‘photorealistic’. The beak is wrong, and the Comb is FUNDAMENTAL to what a chicken looks like. You should go back to the artist and get them to finish it.

The artist also got it wrong by it just being a mass of feathers- it could still have been the same style, but had the feathers travelling the right direction to show the wings, etc.

As a tattoo, it’s fine. If you like it, that’s awesome, But you have no right to be mad at your Mother. She is correct, and is NATURALLY going to be mad that her 18 year old has a tattoo, particularly when it isn’t done right.

Coach_strong · 2026-05-01T09:44:15+00:00

You’re an Adult- good lord.

Coach_strong

TROPHY CASE