How Did My Tattoo Become One of My Worst Regrets?

I always felt some video games had depth in terms of storytelling. Rather than just being games, they were whole experiences. I was really affected by the story mode of Call of Duty: Black Ops. The player escapes from a prison in Vorkuta along with Viktor Reznov and other imprisoned soldiers. During the escape, Viktor Reznov says: "We are all soldiers without an army. Betrayed, forgotten, abandoned."

It immediately made me feel like it meant something more than it actually said. I thought he meant that all these individuals were lone soldiers in this life. Betrayed, forgotten, and abandoned. Either way, it was a powerful moment, and I really enjoyed the rest of the game. But that wasn't the end of it for me.

When I was 19, I decided to have my first tattoo. It was going to be on my chest. It had to be Viktor Reznov's quotation. It was going to look so cool. I was sure. But it kind of did not. Everybody gets betrayed, forgotten, and abandoned in this life. You can relate. But having it as a tattoo? No.

Tattoos, in general, are risky. You change over time, but they don't. The meanings of shapes can be altered over time, but that doesn't work for text. They stay exactly the same. That's why this tattoo of mine is something I want to get rid of. That creates another issue. Having it removed is just as painful as getting it. It's a nightmare. I remember blacking out from pain. Definitely not worth it.

So I'm thinking about alternatives. My new idea for this tattoo, even though a friend of mine thinks it’s a bad one, is this: I'm gonna find a tattoo artist who's good at creating spray effects. The text on my chest will become a wall, and the quote will be crossed out with black spray paint.

It's a bit paradoxical, though. I think something like that could work for now, but the same regrets might come back over time.

The other option is what most people do: covering it completely with something else. It has to be bigger than the original tattoo. That kind of pain is unbearable. It's not like going to the dentist or getting your hair dreadlocked.