"Tattoos are the epitome of trashy," my mother used to tell me. So, I got five of them. One the day I turned 18, one two weeks later, another one three months after that, a fourth one two months later, and finally my newest one two months after the fourth. I quickly learned tattoos are addictive. Why they are is beyond me, but my real problem was breaking the news to my mom with each new tattoo. After my fourth tattoo, my mom said-- in tears-- "what do you think people are going to think about you with all these tattoos? Huh?" It's a question worth thinking about. For most in the south, people who get tattoos fall into two categories: white trash and gang members. Of course there's the sweet nurses with their tiny ankle tattoos, and the teachers with their small, easy to hide tattoos, those people don't count. But the people who dive into the tattoo world head first, terrify people because a tattooed person wears his or her decisions boldly.

A tattoo is a permanent commitment, something one must be absolutely sure of and committed to 100% otherwise it's a mistake.The world we live in today is one full of doubt and fear of intense commitment; just about any social experiment can prove that. The top fears people have about tattoos is regretting it later on, people's judgement, and deciding years down the road the tattoo subject is less "cool." All of those are fine fears, but they should not be used to condemn those who don't live by them. If commitment and certainty don't scare someone, that person shouldn't be made to feel less professional or "dirty." People typically don't want others to know the decisions they made when they were 18, but people with tattoos wear theirs and each one has a different story. Imagine wearing stories of youth as a 40 year-old man--some may find that horrifying, which is a big fear of getting tattoos--but if the story is timeless and so is the memory, why not wear it? Ultimately, tattoos are personal decisions. The world is slowly but surely shifting into a culture where tattoos are accepted in the professional world, but that change is slowly , as slowly as possible, making its way to the South. Hopefully by the time the millennial generation takes over, tattoos will be wholly accepted, but until then, I beg of my readers: Don't look down on someone because they aren't ashamed to wear their decisions.