So, most people would call me weak, a weenie, pathetic. Yes, I will admit it: I am scared of getting a tattoo. Am I frightened of the bloodshed? Yes. Am I frightened about the possibility of disease? Of course. But most of all, I am frightened of regret. I am scared that I will get a tattoo that I will be ashamed of later in life. After all, if I had gotten that tattoo of that certain big hair rock band's name back in the 80's, I would be devastated today. And you know, I've seen more than my fair share of botched up tattoos. I've even been responsible for some, as a tattoo artist.

So, maybe trying out tattoos by using temporary tattoo designs isn't such a bad idea. I decided to go online and do a little tattoo research and was amazed at some of the ideas I discovered. I stopped at several websites and found thousands of designs to choose from. All of them could be used as temporary tattoo designs so I could give them a dry run before letting a needle get near my body.

I came across some interesting and novel designs that I could try on different parts of my body. An Asian symbol on my leg, a vine tattoo on my arm, even some lettering for the back of my neck. By trying out temporary tattoo designs, I soon realized a couple of things. First, people treat you differently when you have a tattoo. Some are scared, some respect you - but either way, you get a reaction. Second, by trying tattoos on a trial basis, you get a much better idea of what works and doesn't work on your particular body. It gives you one last chance to make sure you don't make a major mistake.

The other thing I learned about tattoos was that your mother will not appreciate your temporary tattoo designs either. To her, a temporary tattoo is almost as bad as a real one. Not quite, but almost. After all, she most likely can't tell the difference.