Thinking of getting a tattoo

So, I'm thinking I would like to get a tattoo, but based on the reaction of other people, it seems that they really really hurt a lot and I have a pretty low threshold for pain. As well, (because I want to get a small japanese symbol on my ankle), people...

have told me that getting a tattoo near a boney area of my body will hurt ten times worse than if I were to get it on an area with muscle or pure fat.
What should I do? Should I go through with getting it? I'd really like to, but again, I'm worried about the pain...
OH, and I forgot to ask, I wanted to know if there is anyone out there who has a cartilage piercing and a tattoo and could tell me in comparison, how was the pain between the two. Only because I have a cartilage piercing and I just like to know what I'm dealing with since I know how much it hurts to get the piercing done. (sorry, I talk a lot)

I have 21 piercings (yes. 21. lol 6 lobe, 3 cartilage, 1 snug, 1 rook, 1 conch, 2 traigus's, nose, tongue, both nipples, bellybutton, lower bellybutton, and down there.)... I also have 4 tattoos.(a star on my wrist, a dove on my inner left ankle, a huge stargazer lilly on my lower left side, and shooting stars on the top of my right foot.)
all of them have a very special and significant meaning to me...

you cant compare the pain from a piercing to the pain from a tattoo. a piercing (a REAL piercing. not cartilage. lol) is a sharp, intense, quick pain.
...a tattoo is a long, dull but sharp pain.
the best way I can describe it is this... did you ever draw on your hand or something with pen? if you were to scribble on your hand in the same spot with pen for a longgg while ( you get the wearing/numbing sensation... now just add a pin to the tip of the pen to get the sharp pain part.
it hurts...but its bearable. and (oddly enough) its addicting.
...if it wasent bearable...people wouldnt be walking around with full sleeves and things like that, you know?

My advice to you is wait. Everyone wants a chinese or japanese symbol at somepoint in their lifes... and many people will tell you they're glad they didnt get it. for most people, its just a phase. I know it was for me...and I am terribly glad I didnt get it.
I was gonna get the symbol for compassion (even after being a vegetarian for 8 years, and compassion is very important to me... its not significant enough in my life to have it perminantly on my body.)

My best advice for you would be to pick a design or two you like... now WAIT for atleast 6 months. if you still like it after that, then get it.
6 months might seem like a long time... but its nothing compared to looking at an unwanted piece of artwork perminently tattooed in your body...take it from me.

...wait for something thats SPECIAL to you. are you going to hafta LOOK for a design? NO. it will find you. look at some IDEAS... and you'll know which one is for you. its just a feeling, and I promise you'll get it when you find the right one...
the most important part of a tattoo is the story/memory behind it.

...my star on my wrist means everything to me...
1. stars are my favorite thing in the world. ever. im naming my first daughter Star.
2. I have a special memory from when I was a child... my great grandmother taught me how to draw a star on paper. lol it was the most amazing thing to me at the time... and I ended up drawing them all over my arms and legs before I went to bed (and got in a lot of trouble for it) lol
3. I used to have a cutting problem. my first time cutting, was on my left wrist.
...when I finally got through that phase in my life, I got my star over the area that I first cut...as a symbol of that period in my life being over, to never go down that road again, and for closure.
it means a lot to me.

...when you find a tattoo thats special to you, you'll know.
...and as for now. please wait.
you WONT regret it. the only thing you can regret involving a tattoo is a hasty decision.

...and yes. tattooing over bone hurts alittle more... but like I said. its the same type of hurt... just the intensity is different. Unless your getting your ribs or the top of your feet tattooed, you'll be fine.

thank you so much for your answers. they have helped me a lot with my decision.
thanks very much again for your input. I'm glad I asked first before I went through with anything.

People have different pain thresholds, so what's painful to one person isn't necessarily going to painful to someone else. But generally, getting a tattoo on a bonier area is less comfortable if you were, say, getting one on your arm. This is because the process of tattooing involves a fast moving needle poking holes into your skin; if the skin is only backed by bone, it's generally more painful.

I have tattoos on my wrists, arms, back, and hip and they didn't really hurt (with the exception of my hip). I found that the painful parts of getting tattoos was the line work, just because they have to go over the lines again and again.

My cartilage piercings actually hurt more than my tattoos.