I was 17 years old when my mother signed for me to get my first tattoo. Most people would say that was wrong of her, or she should have made me wait until I was 18 (which was only two months after I got my first tattoo). But my mother knew that I wouldn't regret my tattoo choice because I have been in love with the song since I was a kid. She knew how much that song meant to me, and knew that I would get it no matter if it was before or after my 18th birthday.

My first tattoo says,

"Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small, you never need to carry more than you can hold."

Nothing wrong with this, right? There's no cuss words, or anything offensive, just some lyrics from a country song. I now have eight tattoos, and not one of them have anything offensive in them. Five of them are words such as "love mom," and the other three are images like the Disney castle. And depending on what I wear that day depends on how many of my tattoos you can see. All of mine are "coverable" if I wear a T-shirt, pants, and tennis shoes. But why does this matter? I mean it is 2016, right? This matters to me because tattoos have now become a huge controversy in many different work places, including the places I work. I have had four jobs within the four years I've been able to work, and only at one of them I was allowed to show my tattoos. Only ONE of them. My other three jobs I had to cover them somehow, someway. But why should I have to cover my tattoos? There's nothing wrong with any of the artwork I have on my body, nothing at all.

How do my tattoos define who I am as a person, or how my work ethic is?

They don't. My artworks, that I have paid a lot of money for, do not define how good or bad I am at my job. The balloons on my ankle do not say "Yes, she will be great at this job," my balloons say "Her family means the world to her." The quote I have, "live by the sun," doesn't tell you if I'm a nice or mean person. So why am I asked if I have any visible tattoos in my job interview? Why are companies willing to turn away my application because I have a few visible tattoos?

When I am hired at a new job, I try my absolute best to learn the material and job duties as fast as possible. Once I have been at the job for a couple months, I'm normally very good at my job. I work a ton of extra hours, and go out of my way to learn other positions at the job, to show employers that I care about my work place. I have been told by all my employers that I am one of the best workers they have ever seen, and they are willing to hire me back at anytime. Now does my artwork stop my ability to work in any way? NO. Do my tattoos offend anyone at my work places? NO. So, again - why do I have to cover them?

What I do because of my visible tattoos..

Since so many companies do have the policies of no visible tattoos, I always find a way to hide mine. I figure out ways to cover my tattoos before even getting the ink done; it not only makes it easier for me, but it shows my employers that I will follow their policies. At my summer job where I wear shorts, I wear and ankle brace to cover my balloons, and if I have my t-shirt off (just my swimsuit and shorts), I wear a bandage over my back tattoos. I do follow the rules, and respect my job for the policies that are in place, but it is amazing that its 2016 and I have to cover my NON-offensive tattoos.

This summer, I have three visible, and two sort-of visible tattoos in my work uniform. This summer I will have to wear an ankle brace on my left foot to cover the five colorful balloons I have, but I also had to buy certain shoes to cover the quote on my foot that says, "love mom & aunt lorrie." And on my right ankle I will either have to wear a bandage or ankle brace because I have three small waves. If I plan on taking my shirt off I will bandage and tap the Rascal Flatts lyrics on my left shoulder, and the Disney Castle on my right shoulder.

But I shouldn't have to go to that extreme just to be able to work. Again, not one single tattoo of mine is offensive or bad, so why must I take the extra time to cover them? I mean, waves. and balloons are happy things to 99% of the population. Just saying.

Here's some fact you may not have known.

1 in 5 Americans have at least one tattoo. 1 in 5. Now most of these tattoos are probably in a place that can be covered but lets say 50 percent of at 1 out of 5 people's tattoos are in a visible spot. Companies are going to dismiss 1 out of every 10 people that apply because they have a visible tattoo. If you think about it, that actually quite a large number when we talk about the United States population. Companies are more willing to hire someone that could possibly be the worst employee just because they don't have tattoos. That's not fair at all, and honestly, that's considered discrimation. Why am I, and so many other amazing possible employees, being turned down because we have artwork?

How does this affect the company?

It affects the company because they either don't hire good employees or it looks like a war zone at the work place. Would you rather see me with two ankle braces and two big bandages on my back, or just being able to see my tattoos? I would rather see someone's tattoos than see them working when it looks like they got in a fight the night before. I have children ask me all the time why I wear an ankle brace, or adults ask me if I go into a bar fight because of the bandages on my back. Then I explain to the guest that its policy for me to cover my tattoos, and they are amazed. One lady told me that she was amazed at the way I treated the kids, and that she sees nothing wrong with her children seeing some balloons on an employee's body. Tattoo discrimination can ultimately hurt the company in many different ways.

As a student that has worked different jobs with different policies, I truly believe that companies need to worry more about issues with stealing and safety threats, and less worrying about whether people are showing their tattoos or not. I love my artwork, and will continue to get more. I hope in the near future I can go to a job interview and they don't ask me if i have visible tattoos or piercings. I hope for my children and grandchildren that they can show their personality with artwork if they choose to and don't have to worry about their career choice.

I hope companies read this to realize I dedicate myself to my job, and my tattoos don't change my work ethic.