My first tattoo was a wooden cross with the words "Psalm 23:4" above it in cursive. I drew that tattoo when I was 15 years-old, right after we lost more than 5 members of our family in the same year. It was a drawing and a Bible verse that meant a lot to me, even to this day. That first tattoo came during my senior year of high school, and since then, I've accumulated several more, all with personal meanings.

I started hearing things about my tattoos from the very beginning. Older people within my family would make comments like, "Did you pay for that?" and "God gave you that body, you don't need to change it."

Others outside of my family have also made comments like "Why would you go and do that to yourself?" or "What's the point?" I think my favorite comment came from a stranger one day while I was at lunch during my summer job. The older gentlemen saw the map I have tattooed on my shoulder and he said, "What's that? Some sort of treasure map or something?" He was cracking a joke, or at least I think so, so I proceeded to laugh it off and explain it.

Comments like those are made to roll off of your back, especially when coming from older generations who don't see eye-to-eye with those of us that see beautiful art and self-expression within a tattoo.

Over the years, I have heard multiple comments about my body and what I've chosen to put onto it. Lately, my favorite thing to say is, "It's 2017."

It's 2017 and I'll get tattoos if I want to.

I don't think you can walk down a crowded street anymore and not see someone with a sleeve or a few tattoos on their arms, legs, face, and so on. It's become a popular activity and is becoming more widely accepted.

Not long ago, I wrote a paper about the acceptance of tattoos in the workplace today and the new acceptance for those with tattoos. Individuals used to be judged as bad people, hoodlums, or even criminals based on the ink on their skin. However, it is now more common to see people in all capacities with tattoos.

I choose to keep my ink in places that can be hidden, mainly because I will need someone to give me a job when I graduate. I choose what happens to my body because it is just that: mine. My tattoos don't display a criminal record, nor do they display meaningless things. Some of us choose to express ourselves through ink, while others choose piercings, but regardless of what we choose, it is no one's place to pass judgment.

You don't necessarily have to agree with it, but a long time ago, I was taught that if I didn't have anything nice to say, I shouldn't say anything at all.