Ruth+S’s+2016+OpEd+Article

Tattoos ..



Recently my best friend has been insisting on her and I getting matching tattoos for my 18th birthday. She’s been contemplating since she was 18 whether or not to get a tattoo(she will be 20 in April). When she first told me her idea for a tattoo I was very excited for her, I thought what better way to be reminded of the things that are meaningful in your life.

I on the other hand, am very indecisive and quite frankly the idea of having five little needles permanently inscribing something on my body scares me. So I said no, I am not ready to get a tattoo in just five months. Getting a tattoo at such a young age is risky for a couple of reasons.

Don’t we all cringe while looking back at middle school photos - or even photos that were taken Freshmen year?
 * 1) We’re still maturing.

2. We have to understand it’s forever. Please. Please. Don’t get a tattoo of the name of your high school boyfriend/girlfriend. We don’t know what the future holds.

3. Future jobs. It really depends on whatever career you choose but some jobs don’t accept employees with tattoos. However, if It’s small or somewhere easily hidden then you might be fine.

Although my whole spiel might seem that I am against tattoos, I’m not. I understand tattoos can be a form of expression. At the end of the day it’s your body and you could choose to get whatever you want done, this is just something to consider.

“The lessons I learned from this whole thing is that even if you think, at 18, that you're making a smart decision and that this will mean something to you years later - you might be wrong.”- Anonymous

- S ide note: the anonymous person said in his comment on an article I was reading to look up 80 year olds with tattoos before planning to get one (this one was my fav).