Tattoo as a Tool for Self-Expression

Johnny Depp once said, My body is my journal, and my tattoos are my story. Many people may agree with Depp's quote while others may not. Tattoos have been frowned upon by employers, parents, and elders. Maybe it's because tattoos used to be a thing for bikers or rockstars, but believe it or not according to a Statiista Survey, four out of 10 U.S adults aged 18-69 have at least one tattoo(2017,p.1). Tattoos are now perceived as more than just ink, they are actually meaning something to people. People use tattoos to express themselves, cover up imperfections, or as a remembrance for someone or something.

A lot of people get tattoos that help to tell who they are or to express their style and opinion through silence. Tattoos are basically a physical display of who people really are on the inside or the kind of person they want others to see/know. For instance, a girl might get a music note over her heart. This tattoo might show the love that the girl has for music or maybe she is just comparing her heart to music. Nobody really knows what the tattoo means except her. She gets to pick what side of her that she wants everybody to see. Tattoos make people be able to celebrate their uniqueness and personal identity.

Scars are seen as imperfections by some people. These scars make people feel uncomfortable so they get tattoos to camouflage these scars to feel stronger and to overcome their past and replace them with something they love. With specifically self-harm scars, people may find it very challenging to move on. For some people, tattoos act as apart of the healing process or as an act of restoring the body (Checkland, 2017). Tattoo artists can turn scars into something beautiful. Putting art over scars can make self-harm victims feel as if they are more than just their past. This would definitely boost victims' confidence and make them feel better about themselves. Even though you may not be able to easily eradicate a scar, they can be turned into something that is more appealing.

More and more people are using tattoos to cope with the grief of losing one of their loved ones. Memorial tattoos are important ways of remembering the person he or she lost. Having a tattoo that symbolizes the person is like having a permanent connection with that important person. These tattoos let a person carry the memory of a loved one everywhere. A pet owner once got a tattoo to remember the life of her kitten Basil. During her kitten's final days she decided to get a tattoo of basil leaves with her kitten's ashes in it. She said that since she incorporated her kitten's ashes in her tattoo, he'll always be with me (Rodriguez,2014,p.8). Getting a tattoo to remember a person is to make you feel as if you are still close to that person, almost like they have not traveled too far.

The skin that a person wears is theirs. There is nothing wrong with a person using their body as a coloring book. (Thompson,2016) Tattoos are like little openings to a person's soul. They are used for a great number of purposes including the expressing of people, covering of imperfections, or a remembrance for a lost loved one. A person's body should be treated as their canvas, while tattoos should be their masterpiece. The skin should always be freed and embraced!

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