As more and more young adults get tattoos, more and more of their elders insist that tattoos are no good. They claim that “you’re only going to regret them.” Some view tattoos as a mark of being tough, while others get the names of the ones they love as a representation of their love. Either way, these tattoos are going to be branded on forever.

“I think it’s a good idea to get a tattoo, but only if you really know what you want and it’s important to you,” states junior Hans Gonzalez. “I plan on getting a really elaborate one, with lots of little details. It’s going to be great.”

One popular design is native symbols tattooed on them. Other popular tattoos are important to the individual and his culture. Chinese lettering is also a popular one, even though sometimes what people think they’re getting tattooed means something entirely different in reality, according to tattoo artist Albert “Albie” Rock.

Justin Chang, a senior, knows what he wants his first tattoo to be. “I definitely want something that will reflect my Chinese heritage. And I won’t have any problems, because I’ll know if the tattoo artist is trying to screw me over with something that doesn’t say what I want it to.”

“Most people just get weird symbols to look cool, to look like they know something that other people don’t. It’s all for show,” comments sophomore Nate Lowe. “Getting a tattoo so people will look at you a certain way,” he adds, “is not good. It’s pointless, because you’re the one who’s going to have to deal with it.”



Another popular design that a lot of people get without really understanding its meaning is one from Native American cultures. By simply looking on Google for Native American tattoo designs, one of the first websites offered had forty-five pages of different designs. That’s forty-five pages filled with designs that kids can pick from to flaunt a tattoo they know nothing about. “I mean, having a lot of different designs to choose from is nice for people like me who wouldn’t really know what they wanted. It’s good to have a lot of cool designs that can spark my interest,” asserted Lowe.

“I don’t think kids will ever really realize that they should really know that the tattoo is going to be on them for the rest of their lives, it would be nice to get it not just for what people will think of you when they see it,” claimed sophomore Michelle Lewis. “That’s kind of sad.”