I will never fully wrap my head around the fact that there are still people in the world who are upset about the idea of a person having a tattoo on their body. There is such a negative reaction towards tattoos by individuals who don’t have them in our society. Growing up, I was always given the impression that people who are bad have tattoos and they are “ruining their life” by getting one. You never know what someone is going through or dealing with in their life, so others have no place to judge if a person decides to get a tattoo. So with that being said, I think it’s finally time for people to realize that there’s more to life than judging other’s about their tattoos.
To me, tattoos are all about self-expression and meaning *cue Express Yourself by Charles Wright* People go through good, bad, and happy times that may have a huge influence on the way their life is going. From my own personal life, a large majority of my friends from high school have tattoos. Their tattoos are about commemorating family members (living and deceased), events in their life that had a big impact on them, faith, and places that they have visited that created great memories in their life thus far. I genuinely think that all of my friend’s tattoos are beautiful, and I don’t believe that they should be seen as “trashy” or “unappealing”. People are allowed to express themselves any way they can.
Tattoos are a form of art. It’s a symbol or drawing that is placed on your body forever to remind you of the reason you decided to get it. Although most people get tattoos in order to emphasize an event which may have occurred in their lives, it’s okay to get a tattoo just because you like the way it looks. Everyone is different. Some people prefer small hidden tattoos with an important meaning, while others may want their whole arms to be filled with random drawings that don’t have any specific purpose. There’s no wrong choice, and whatever you decide to put on your body is beautiful regardless.
I have a couple tattoos on my body, which symbolize some of the most significant events that have happened in my life. These events that happened to me were tragic, and in that moment, I never thought I would be able to move on and grow. My first tattoo I decided to get was a small arrow on my ribs. An arrow is only shot forward by first being pulled back; therefore, no matter how rough life may seem in that moment, it’s just getting ready to shoot you towards something greater. As silly as it sounds, this tiny arrow got me through an extremely hard time. I look at it everyday and think of how much stronger I have become since then.
Of course, I’m not saying go out right now and get a tattoo. Tattoos are not for everyone, but if you are even slightly considering getting one, make sure you are 100% sure about it before you start the process.
The main point is that tattoos are beautiful, and people with them need to stop being judged.