Tattoos can be an awesome way of showing the world who a person is and expressing oneself in a permanent way. However, thought and time are required in getting one.

Tattoos are good to have because a person only lives once and only has one body, so why not make it his own?

Tattoos can mean things to the people who get them; however, not all of them do mean something. Sometimes  it is just art or an act of stupidity.

I have four tattoos and only one of them is visible because it actually means something to me. The tattoo is the key to Davy Jones’s chest that contains his heart from “Pirates of The Caribbean the Dead Man’s Chest” and “Pirates of the Caribbean at World’s End.” The tattoo represents the past and is a reminder not to let anyone too close.

My other three — a cobra, a tribal wolf and a smiley face with fangs on it — really do not mean anything. I just got them because I wanted them. However, none of them are visible, unless I want to show them off.

A person needs to think before getting a tattoo that is going to be able to be seen on an almost daily basis because, not only could it prevent that person from getting a decent job one day, but it could also result in problems finding a significant other, negative stereotypes or lead to being ridiculed by his peers.

Tattoos are not a joke. The person who gets the tattoo has to live with that choice for the rest of his life, so I would not recommend getting one when alcohol or other intoxicating substances are involved.

When a person is thinking about getting a tattoo, they should consider where they want it, where they want to get it done and give the idea a lot of thought.

I cannot explain the number of people I know who have gotten ridiculously dumb looking tattoos because they were over at a friend’s house and that friend happened to do tattoos on the side to make some extra cash.

These impulsive tattoos resulted in infections because the needles were not sterilized and the tattoos were done poorly.

Tattoos are a form of art, and I have nothing against them. I support them all the way, but thought is required before getting one.

Not all employers are going to let employees work for them with skulls on the back of their hands and “love hate” tattooed on their knuckles.

Yes, maybe it seems like they look hardcore, but, in the long run, it is going to hurt them more than help them.

If a person gets a tattoo that screams gang or inmate, then potential employers might look at them as such and go on to the next person because they had a prison teardrop tattoo or a pair of clowns on each arm.

Even though the times are changing and tattoos are becoming more acceptable in today’s workforce, a person can still lose the opportunity to get a new job because the potential employer does not want to hire someone with tattoos that can cause negative stereotypes.

I am not saying that tattoos are bad, nor do all of them have to have reasons behind them; however, people need to consider the consequences before having the needles scrape into their skin leaving permanent ink.

Getting a significant other’s name tattooed on his body is not an idea a person should go through with, and, if done by the wrong hand, could not only leave the person single, but in bad health the rest of his life because the needle their buddy used was infected with HIV.

Tattoos are not something to play with because, not only could they ruin parts of someone’s skin and life, they could completely destroy everything by trusting the wrong person to handle it.

By BRYAN JONES

Features Editor

jonesbry@umail.iu.edu