Hi guys. I don't have any tats yet, but there is one that I've wanted since I was probably around 14 (I'm 18 now and I still want it just as much as ever). I haven't gotten it yet though, because I really don't know what my family will think. My parents, especially my dad, are really conservative and I don't think they like tattoos very much, and they seem judgmental and upset when people in our extended family have gotten tattoos. I've talked about it with my mom, because I'm MUCH closer with her, and I don't think my getting the tattoo would upset her too much; I think she understands how much it would mean to me and that it's my body and it's my choice. My dad, however... I have no idea how he would react. Well, okay, I predict that he would be very angry. We've always had a pretty shitty relationship for a whole host of reasons that I frankly don't feel like getting into, and I just don't want to do anything that would drive us even further apart. I could, of course, do it secretly, and keep it hidden from him, but I hate how much I keep hidden from him already. I have mental illnesses and I struggle with things that he seems incapable of comprehending, and I just don't really want to do anything that will make us even more estranged from each other. I know the obvious solution is to talk about it with him, but... honestly, I'm afraid. I don't know how to bring it up, and I honestly don't know how to stand my ground with him. When he gets angry and starts to yell, I just crumple. I don't know. I don't know what to do. I've wanted this tattoo for so long, but I've never had super concrete plans about getting it, but it still just feels important to me. And i had another revelation about how I want it done recently that makes me want it more than ever. If anyone has any advice at all, I would VERY much appreciate it.💗💗