"Why would you get that? It is so scary" people say as they cringe at the sight of the tattoo on my arm that will forever be on my skin. "You are such a pretty girl, why ruin yourself like that?" they finish with while I hold back a lot of words I should not say and replace them with a smile. I have always had a sort-of attraction to tattoos. I find it fascinating that our bodies start out as a blank canvas and we can make them more of our own by adding art to them. This is why I cannot come to understand why a piece of art on someone's body can cause so much hate and lost opportunities.
On my body I have three tattoos, all of which have a specific meaning to me and none of which are offensive to anyone at all. This is why I am so bothered when people ridicule me for what I have chosen to do with my own body. That's right, it is my body, it does not belong to anyone else but me. I am a full-time college student studying psychology with plans to go to graduate school in order to become a clinician. I work part-time, two jobs at one point, and still manage to keep a 3.75 GPA. I live in a loving home and there is really nothing hostile about me. There is more to me than just my "scary tattoo." Just because I have tattoos does not mean I am any less of a good person.
I believe my tattoos are a part of defining me, but they do not represent all of me. They are a way to express my individuality and how I see myself as a human being. They help me stand out in a crowd of people of which society has tried to mold to be the same. Tattoos are not, and hopefully will never be a bad thing, so please stop looking and them and treating me as if they are.
