Having tattoos comes with an automatic commentary from a variety of people. If you're a woman, chances are the commentary doubles. Career goals, personal integrity and often a variety of other subjects end up being a target of discussion when you decide to get tattoos. Having a future and deciding to have tattoos aren't things that are mutually exclusive.
I'm a female, I decided to get tattoos and I plan on having a very successful career I've worked very hard for since my first day as a college student. I haven't changed my major ever in college, I've always known since the beginning of my college career it was going to be my future. The irony behind it, is that most people don't question whether or not you'll regret your career in 10 years, but they tend to tell you "you'll regret those tattoos in 10 years." My tattoos are a reflection of my challenges. The things I've overcome in my life have given me quite a bit of perspective. I've learned a lot about myself, and the best part is that I know what I want, unless it comes to dinner choices.
Women like Sophia Amoruso, Angelina Jolie, Helen Mirren and Lena Dunham get to walk the ranks with plenty of men, all while tattooed, and very successful. I don't have to show my tattoos unless I want them seen. The ink on my skin doesn't mean I'm any less competent than any other individual. They'll become different with age, but the thing that many people run away from anyway is aging. My skin will look different just like anyone's, but it will still have its fancy designs and bits of art. I'm proud of my choices and it may be a "millennial" attitude to think that my classy tattoos that I can cover shouldn't limit my career or my life. So I'll take the questions of what my tattoos mean, the trash talk about how they'll ruin my life and I'll regret them, because I have a daily reminder of things that are important to me.
There's an art to knowing you can't wash something off in the shower after a long day. It's scary at first, the level of permanent that comes along with it at the age of 20. But life happens, and things change so fast that I find comfort in the bits of me that will always stay the same. You're asked to have your life pretty much planned out by the age of 18, and who said that it will remotely work out the way you think it will. So celebrate the fact that your skin will eventually lose its elasticity, your world could turn upside down and your life won't be ruined by one tattoo... within reason.
