19 Ribcage Tattoos That Prove The Pain Is Worth It

OK, so admittedly, I have some very poor standards on personal space. I'm always up in people's grill and I ask too many questions and although I recognize social cues, a part of me is like "meh" and just keeps trucking on like the Jenna Maroney of my friend group. And this is especially an issue when I find out friends have tattoos, because I just have to see them, no matter where on their body the tattoo is located. PSA, human friends: Don't tell me that you have an awesome ribcage tattoo, because I will make a scene and/or lift up your shirt in public to stare at it.

I mean, tattoos are beautiful no matter where you put them or how they came to be—thanks to the internet and my inherent nosiness, I've seen some stunning couples tattoos, beautiful literary tattoos, and minimalist tattoos I've loved so much that I wanted to copycat them on the spot. But I feel like ribcages in particular are a really stunning canvas for tattoos, if they take advantage of the uniqueness of that particular body area and are done well. I'm sure they hurt like all hell (I totally watched a special on it on Teen Nick in the '90s, guys, so I know a lot of stuff about tattoo application), but they are well worth it for the awesome results.

Here are some ribcage tattoos that are so awesome that you might not be able to resist getting one yourself:

1. Paper crane

2. Follow your arrow

3. The sky's the limit

4. Hobbit hole

5. City skyline

6. Peter Pan

7. Self empowerment

8. "To live is to fight"

9. Electricity

10. To the moon and back

11. Paper airplane

12. A dear deer

13. Smell the roses

14. Evergreen

15. Wonder Woman

16. In your orbit

17. Serotonin

18. Compass

19. Confidence

Image: loretta_mi/Facebook