We have come a long way in this crazy world regarding expression: it has become more acceptable for people to advertise their love interests regardless of gender or race, women are able to display their sexuality through clothing, and people express their artistic preferences through tattoos. Although great changes are happening, not everyone is going to understand.

Let's face the facts... tattoos are permanent and there is no going back in time to change your decision. What you get will be with you for eternity; although this can be scary, it forces people to recognize what is truly important to them. Is the bird you like just a phase or do you feel a connection with it? Do you want that anchor because you saw another person with it and admire them, or do you genuinely love the artwork? Choosing what to get or what not to get is extensive; it is not a process that is spur of the moment or takes a few days to decide. Even if 10 years from now you look back and say, "What the hell was I thinking?" Remember what made you fall in love with it, what made you determine that this thing is worth carrying with you for the rest of your life.

I'm not going to say that each tattoo you get should have some immense meaning with what it stands for and what it means to you on an existential level. But I am saying you should love and have a connection with it. If you love sunflowers, get a sunflower. If you love sharks, get a shark. Regardless of what you choose, you need to feel it in your heart. You don't have to fake some extensive meaning about how sharks are strong, they take no mercy on their prey and are kings of the ocean. You could have just grown up by the ocean and feel admiration for the animal. Even if you have a deeper meaning for your interpretation, you are by no means obligated to offer an explanation. Regardless of your reasoning, you will become your artwork. The world-renowned playwright that is Oscar Wilde had a philosophy that if one surrounds themselves with beautiful things, one can directly influence the person they will become. When embodying yourself in art, you see things as more beautiful and with greater meaning; instead of scratching the surface, you will appreciate the deeper implication. To live a happy life, one must inundate themselves with the things they love and the things that make them want to live.

Not everyone is going to like your tattoos, but at the end of the day, who cares? There is no use dwelling on the opinion of others when there is physically nothing you can do to change the facts. It's the same as not everyone is going to like your nose or your eyes or your hair, or any body part for the matter. But it shouldn't matter if they don't, because they are not you. They are not able to walk in your body or live your life, but you are. It shouldn't matter to anyone else what you do with your body, because it is yours, not theirs. If they don't like your tattoo, well, good thing they don't have it.

Don't let the fear of judgment keep you from living the life you aspire. If you want a tattoo resolutely enough, it should not matter to you what anyone else thinks. At the same time, if you are being persuaded into getting a tattoo when you are unsure, you have every right to decline. There should be no one forcing you to do something that will brand you for the rest of your life. Just because everyone around you is getting tattoos, it does not mean that you should feel obligated to as well. The time will come when you feel necessary to make your body more artistic, and if that time never comes, you will still be just as special with or without tattoos. You are the artist of your own body: you can either remain a beautiful blank canvas, or a work of art.