I've always loved tattoos. There is just something about them--from the bright colors, to the thin lines and the wonderful pictures they create. They are a form of art, displayed on humans rather than canvases. There have been many tattoos that I have seen and immediately fallen in love with, regardless of whether or not they contain meaning. As with normal art, certain pieces mean certain things to the artist and other pieces were created simply for aesthetic reasons.

Although many people seem to think so, tattoos do not necessarily have to have any meaning.

Everyone always thinks that people who get permanently inked should pick something with meaning, instead of "stupid animals" or "random images." Tattoos are certainly less taboo than they used to be, but, even still, many people think that getting inked is something that has to be meaningful, otherwise it's ridiculous or trashy.

While tattoos can be meaningful, they don't always have to be. People get tattoos for many different reasons, but there is one reason that they all have in common and that is that the people like what they are receiving. No one goes into a tattoo shop without putting thought into what they want marked into their skin. Just because it's a drawing of a woman or a flower does not mean that the person didn't think about it and ultimately like it.

When I got my first tattoo, of a character from a book (Holden Caulfield, to be exact), I got it because it had meaning to me, but I always absolutely loved it. Every time that I meet someone new and they see the tattoo, they always give me a weird look. They always ask why a young girl like me has a man smoking on her forearm. It isn't until I explain why that they seem to understand why I've picked it.

With all these encounters, despite the fact that the book and character do hold meaning to me, I can't help but wonder why they always ask me what made me get the tattoo or why they seem to think that in ten years I will regret it. It seems that people only think of tattoos as acceptable when they hear that they have a meaning that they can relate to. I say this because, even after attempting to explain why I've chosen what I've chosen, many people don't understand and still think of me as odd for tattooing my piece onto my skin.

I am already planning my next tattoo, one that doesn't hold as much meaning as my first one, because I love the way that it looks and I would like it on my skin. However, as time goes on, I realize that I don't care and neither should anyone else. People should be able to get whatever they would like tattooed on their bodies, meaning or not, as it is that person's body. People get tattoos for their own pleasure. If someone has something bad to say about it, then maybe their opinion isn't worth hearing anyway.