A throwback to my freshman year of college: I had just turned 18, moved out of my childhood home to live with a complete stranger, and was studying Music Education. I felt like I was on top of the world and a true adult. I could do so many new and exciting things a seventeen-year-old couldn't do like buy lottery tickets, cigarettes, or get a piercing without my best friend's mom signing off on it — shout out to you Laurel! However, eighteen-year-old Makayla could not think of any better way to ring in this new life other than a tattoo.

Growing up, my parents made it very clear to my siblings and I that they weren't necessarily against but also not necessarily for permanently changing your body. Mom was ALWAYS more supportive of the idea than Dad. Nevertheless, she was also going to tell you when you were doing something stupid, which is probably why I didn't tell anyone until AFTER I had the tattoo.

It was August 24th, 2017 when I had this bright idea to convince my roommate to walk to the tattoo shop near campus and ink ourselves up. She decided that she didn't want to ink up that day, but she was still there for moral support and a hand to hold. I had always considered getting a tattoo and even dedicated a whole Pinterest board to tattoos, except in the heat of the moment, I couldn't think and deliberate much longer. I needed to decide what I wanted to tattoo and then, the light bulb went off: a treble clef.

Since a young age, music has always been a part of my life. My mom enrolled me in piano lessons at the age of seven, which I did for ten years. In fifth grade, I joined the band in school where I started to play the clarinet. I continued all throughout high school and even into college. At the time, I was studying Music Education, so a treble clef only seemed fitting and I was sold on the idea. To this day, I have two tattoos and counting.

As an education major, it is important for me to keep my tattoos in areas that can easily be covered in order to maintain a professional look. Although this is a controversial topic, as trends and attitudes are changing in society about tattoos, keeping my tattoos covered was my choice, just like how getting them in the first place was my choice.

Looking at me, you wouldn't guess that I have tattoos. However, some have and choose to share their opinions regarding my tattoos whether they are noticeable or not. Times are changing, meaning that society today is not the same society that our parents or grandparents grew up in. Today, we are more accepting than ever with a variety of issues and ideas, therefore why can't my tattoos be accepted? They are my tattoos; I chose to put them on my body. And yes, for the last time, I know that they are permanent.

Aside from being a young woman with tattoos, I keep my composure and maintain a professional look. Also, I am the one who chose to become tatted, paid for the service, and ultimately endured the pain. So, yes, I take your opinion with a grain of salt because I chose to express my creativity and passion in a different way. We are all different and have different ideas and opinions. But please, from me and every other person with a tattoo out there, just because you chose to maintain the skin you were born with does not make you superior nor make us deviant and criminals. Instead, it makes us a human being, just like you.

We all have different stories, interests, passions, etc., and we all choose to express ourselves in a variety of ways.

One of my ways to express myself is through tattoos, and that's okay because it is my choice and my body, not yours. Quite frankly, your thoughts and opinions do not matter to me, and my tattoos should not matter to you. If I want a multitude of needles to penetrate my skin all at the same time, that's okay. It's my pain to suffer, not yours. I do not regret my first tattoo or any tattoo since, and I am still as in love with them as I was when I got them. So please, keep your opinions to yourself because you are not helping those who are tatted nor yourself.