Blog Assignment #2 - Tattoos and Body Mods.
I have a strong opinion about tattoos and piercings, and that's that they're freaking awesome. I currently have one tattoo and six piercings, and I plan on getting more tattoos, but the thing I keep hearing most is "won't you regret it when you're older?" "Why would you mark up your body like that?" or my personal favourite "Ew, why?" Mostly from my family, I might add. But the truth of the matter is that times are changing. Tattoos are becoming more and more common, and eventually someone without tattoos is going to be much less common than someone with tattoos. Personally, I plan to be absolutely covered in tattoos. I think they're beautiful - it's an art form all in itself. Your body is a canvas- your canvas- to decorate and do with it as you see fit. If that means covering it in tattoos, awesome. If it means leaving it blank as the day you were born, awesome. We shouldn’t be judged by the ink (or lack thereof) in our skin.
Discrimination against tattooed individuals is actually one of my biggest pet peeves. I often hear "How do you expect to get a job all marked up like that?" The colour of one’s skin, be it natural or not, means nothing about the individual’s life, morals, value, ethics or character. Having tattoos is a way of expressing the things that mean something to you, and every tattoo has a story, even if it’s just something simple like “I saw it, liked it, put it on my body.” Someone with tattoos is no better or worse than someone without, and vice versa. They are no more skilled or talented that the other. People who see tattoos as ruining your body are wrong, because in my opinion, they’re art, and they make someone remarkable, and striking. The stigma surrounding them has been negative for far too long, and it’s not okay. And for the people that say “Oh, well what are your tattoos going to look like when you’re 80?” I say “Fucking awesome.” because when I’m 80, I won’t care about the way the faded ink in my skin looks. I’ll be more worried about my health, my family, my life quality, etc. And the tattoos will be fond memories of a time when I was young and reckless and free and full of ideas and potential.
I currently have a list of tattoos I want, and most of them have already been drawn and designed. I started this list when I was seven, almost 13 years ago, and nothing has really changed. Some of the designs have been altered slightly, but the main concept has remained the same. The list currently has 26 items on it, but Some will be combined into a sleeve, so technically there are only about 16 or 17. The only thing stopping me from being covered right now is lack of money. And my mother hates them, so I'm trying to ease her into it.