The gap in generations is nothing new. The cliche line “Mom, you don’t understand me” is popular for a reason. The social gap between millennials and baby boomers is not a small one. The environment in which our parents were raised is vastly different from the one we face today. When I talk about tattoos or piercings, my parents’ reaction is almost always that I shouldn't deface my body in any way. But to me it's not ruining my body, I see it as a form of self expression.

One day I was in a local coffee shop and this man, around the age of 70, came up to me and started asking questions about my cartilage piercing such as how I got it. He then said “wow maybe I should get one so I can be as cool as you” in a mocking tone. I don’t have cartilage piercings because I want to be cool (let’s be honest, that will never happen), I got them because I see them as a form of personal expression. I think they can be visually aesthetic to some people. Part of the reason the views of my generation and older generations are so contrasting is due to the change in societal acceptance.

For example, it was not until June of 2015 that gay marriage was legalized. It took society a substantially long time to accept that people can love someone of the same sex. It’s not because gay people didn’t exist until recently, they’ve been on this earth just as long as straight people. It is because society has progressively become more accepting. In the past, being gay, or anything that did not follow the confining rules of society, was so frowned upon that people often hid their identity to avoid public ridicule. While this has not completely gone away, it has substantially diminished. The thought that someone has to hide who they are because society is so unaccepting is ridiculous.

People, such as the man I met in the coffee shop, add to this overall societal issue. We not only need to be accepting towards other people, but also toward ideas. We currently are so politically divided because so many people have become so close-minded to any opinion that is not their own. How will we advance as a population if we can’t even agree to disagree? How does one person having a tattoo or piercing so drastically affect your life that you have a problem with it? Why would having a tattoo affect someone's ability to efficiently do a job? It doesn’t.

God forbid we judge people based on their actual character and personality than their appearance. I understand that appearance plays a role in the perception of others, but it is not the end all be all. I am hoping that one day the world may reach a place where we focus less on what doesn’t matter and more on the important issues at hand. At the end of the day your sexual preference, tattoos, and piercings don’t determine your personality. The way you treat other people and the values you carry are what truly define you.