As a young person who has taken several trips under the hum of a sterilized needle at her local tattoo shop, I run into a lot of opinions and criticisms from my friends and family members whenever I decide to add new ink to my body collection; some being very positive, but many also falling into the negative category. Now obviously, as someone who has tattoos, my ideas and opinions are very biased — but I do try and keep an open mind of other people's views on the matter while having formed my own views and ideas as well.

The number one thing I hear when I talk about my tattoos is things along the lines of "Won't having tattoos affect your ability to get a job?"

As someone who is studying theater and acting as a career, I understand that certain areas of skin that are often exposed in day-to-day clothing, should probably be avoided when planning. For me personally, all of my tattoos are very strategically placed on my body (on my foot and ribs) so that they can easily be covered up with clothing or makeup onstage. It all really comes down to your ambitions and plans for a job in the future. More professional settings call for more thought on tattoo placement. If you are planning to be a businessman or a lawyer, tattoo placement might be a higher consideration factor than...let's say...a mechanic or a tattoo artist. And also, it is important to keep in mind that we are in a day and age now in which tattoos are a very popular form of body modification, and the acceptance of them in the younger generations of professionals is at a much higher level.

Another big kicker is the religious aspect of getting tattoos, and what God says about them. Now as a professing Christian, I have read the verse in Leviticus many times about "making marks upon your body."

Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. - Leviticus 19:28

But you must keep in mind, this is a declaration under the old law presented in the Old Testament before the coming of Christ, in which the new law was put into effect. You also must keep in mind the verses and passages that refer to our bodies as a temple, and as a vessel to honor God and love people and live a happy life. All of my tattoos are very personal and hold a special significance to me and my life journey so far. I want my "temple" to express who I am and what I love and care deeply about, and the way I have chosen to do that is through placing them on my skin for the world to see and for me to enjoy.

Many people also say things like "Won't you regret it when your older when your skin gets wrinkled and the design is changed?"

Okay, look. I personally believe that this argument against tattoos is the flimsiest and ridiculous thing a person could probably bring up. Do I fully understand that my tattoos and the way they appear on my skin will change as I get older? Of course. But when I'm 80 years old and have been able to enjoy my body ink for something like 50 years up until this point, I really don't think I'm going to care that much. The way I see it, you only get to live your life once. If you something is important/beautiful/special enough to you to have permanently inked on your body, I say go for it.Tattoos are a very important form of personal self-expression for a lot of people in this day and age. Bodies change. Looks change. But I'm not going to live my entire life worrying about what things might be like when I'm older. Life is to be lived. So get out there and live it!