Waterford High School is a place where expressing your views and opinions is welcomed. In fact, it is encouraged. But it’s not just verbal expression, it can also be artistic expression. When students are 16, they can get a tattoo with parents’ permission.
Tattoos vary from red ,black, to all the colors of the rainbow, and the designs are endless. There isn’t a limit to imagination when it comes to art on the skin. Celebrities such as Ariana Grande, Ryan Gosling, Angelina Jolie, and Lady Gaga have tattoos. Tattoos aren’t just there to spite your parents with your rebelliousness, they can also be a form of expression and memories.
A memorable tattoo is Mrs. Lally’s special piece of art. She stated, “I was 21 when I got my first tattoo, and I was in Yucca Valley, California. I was satisfied with my tattoo because it had sentimental meaning. Though from an artistic eye, I wasn’t very satisfied. My husband and I got our monogram as matching tattoos and it was on our first Valentine’s Day as a couple, and he was being deployed to Iraq. I planned to get more after, and the pain scale was maybe a seven. I don’t really remember how much it cost, since it was so long ago.”
Mrs. Lally’s tattoo expresses her love for her husband and to show that they’ll be tethered despite them being far apart. It is a keepsake.
Senior Autumn Brown recalled her experiences with body art: “I got my first tattoo when I was 15 in Arizona. I got the tattoo on my wrist. I was very satisfied with my tattoo, and then I got another tattoo on my shoulder when I went to Italy this past summer. My first tattoo on my wrist was a 2/10 but the one on my shoulder was a 7/10. The cost of my first tattoo was $60 and my second was $120.”
Undergoing the tattoo for Brown was varied in experience to pain. Fortunately, she expressed how she cherished the tattoo’s outcome.
While some people enjoy getting tattoos, there are those where a tattoo just doesn’t feel right. Other forms of expression are more suitable for them.
Math teacher Mr. Florio says, “Because I saw it on TV, people had them, and I thought that looked cool. I was about six years old and I didn’t get a tattoo because my parents didn’t get a tattoo. They told me that I can’t get a tattoo, and I wasn’t rebellious. Then I was brainwashed into thinking tattoos were bad. My parents are old fashioned, and there might’ve been some religious reasons, but once you get it, you can’t take it off, and that was the main, concrete reason.”
Tattoos aren’t for everyone, and that’s okay. Fear of pain, health risk, cost, professional concerns, and maintenance. Are all valid reasons.
Ms. Woznicki tells her story of how she got her first tattoo. “I have 4+ tattoos but I won’t say the exact number. Mom said if I got one more, I’d be trashy. I got my first tattoo when I was 16, I told my mom that I wanted a tattoo, my mom said she wouldn’t sign the consent form, but she wouldn’t stop me. I saw it as a challenge. I chose a star design because I was 16 and dumb.”
Feeling rebellious, Mrs. Woznicki got her first ever tattoo at16. Later she went and got matching tattoos with her.
Tattoos symbolize the importance of self expression, though it is vital that for big decisions like these, it is important to think before you act.
