Thugs, criminals, rebels: All of these come to mind when most people see someone with a tattoo. Why? Then people see a girl with a 4.0 college GPA with a tattoo on her side and they say, “I would have never thought that she would have a tattoo!” Um, what?! We are living in the 21st century, people. Our society is going through a lot of changes from increased technology to gay marriage, and while I don’t think it should be very high on the list, I do think the view of tattoos should change.

First of all, everyone thinks that other people’s tattoos are their business. Some close friends say “Why didn’t you tell me you got a tattoo?” Some get them in plain sight, while some people hide their tattoos, not because of how they think people will react to them, just because they wanted it on the inside of their lip or on their butt. People who have tattoos will show it off when they want to.

The meanings of tattoos are also important to understand. Some tattoos have a lot of meaning, while others just look cool. Yes, I know, not all tattoo choices are that understandable. But if someone has a tattoo of Britney Spears’s face,who cares?! Is it on your body? No. Will it effect the rest of your life? No. So, stop wasting time and energy bashing someone else’s tattoo. If they like it, then what’s so wrong about it? And if they regret it, then it isn’t your problem to fix. Its theirs, and they know it.

A lot of people think that if you have a tattoo, especially ones that show, it limits the kinds of jobs you can have. Unless your tattoo is offensive or crude, I don’t see how having a tattoo makes you unprofessional. Does it show bad decision making? Not unless the person regrets it, which is usually not the case. If anything, it shows personality and diversity. People need to embrace differences and accept other people’s tastes. I don’t like sweet potatoes, but if you love sweet potatoes, I’m not going to hold it against you or think of you any differently.

One of the most frustrating assumptions that people make about tattoos is the “you’re going to regret it when you’re older” remark. I promise that most people that get tattoos have thought about the fact that they are permanent and will be around for practically the rest of their life. Our body may not be the same 40 years from now—a few more wrinkles and maybe more body fat—but it won’t heavily effect the way the tattoo looks. And luckily for us, we are in a technological age where there is the option of getting it removed if someone decides that they don’t want it anymore. Yes, it costs a lot more money than the tattoo itself, but if it needs to be removed then it can be. My point is that, yes, tattoos are meant to be permanent, but they are not as permanent as we all think they are.

From fast food workers to CEOs, people who have tattoos vary, along with the reasoning for getting tattoos. People need to stop judging others for having tattoos or not having tattoos. It’s a form of expression that we all have the right to. If you see someone with tattoos walking down the street, don’t think you know them even a little bit. Unless they have that Britney Spears tattoo, then you can probably predict that they like “Oops.. I Did It Again.” (But who doesn’t?)