Tattoos and piercings can mean lots of different things to many different people. Whether they are impulsive and random decisions or well thought out choices, this trend is not a new one. Statista Research Department reports “In the United States alone, more than a quarter of the population is adorned with at least one tattoo, and less than 40 percent of Americans would rule out getting one completely.”   

      Junior Kaitlyn Schueler got her first tattoo in August, a couple of years after her grandfather passed away. Her tattoo was inspired based on the passing of her “grandfather” in 2014. The tattoo is “a poppy flower for my grandfather with angel wings and a halo” says Kaitlyn.

     Senior Ellie Kuciara made a “completely random decision” to get her tattoo. Ellie “knew it was a milestone” that she “wanted to hit” Ellie states. Ellie was inspired to get her tattoo that “relates to my zodiac sign, a Pisces”, comments Ellie. “I go with the flow of life, and it [the tattoo] also relates to the yin yang in certain forms”, stated Ellie.

     Junior Kian Pucher also got a tattoo of a Chinese symbol that he said “reminds [him] to always be determined and to stay ambitious.”  He adds, “I just wanted that reminder on my arm to look at and then always […] give me that extra drive in […] anything I do like at the gym, or soccer, or something.”

     Senior Tiffany Williams also has tattoos and she got her first one when she “was 16 and the second when [she] was 17” Tiffany comments. Her decision to get her first tattoo was based on the relationship she has with her father, and the second based on the dog that she had.

     “The first one is a daddy daughter tattoo [because] my dad and I are best friends, he adopted me when I was seven and I was his foster child for two years befor that, so we just got really close” comments Tiffany. The second tattoo that Tiffany got was inspired from her “dog who we had to put down” says Tiffany.

     Dimitrois Tsalikis, Senior also has gotten tattoos that were based on inspiration, he got his first tattoo on February 13, 2021. He was inspired to get his tattoo of a snake based on an accident that he went through. “I was walking on the side of the road with my friends and I got hit by a car and I had to get surgery on my hip […]” Tsalikis comments. 

   Tsalikis states, “[…] when I got hit […] it [the injury] was very close to being my spine or my spinal nerve, so I could have been paralyzed or dead […].”Dimitrois got a tattoo of a snake because the “snake tattoo means life or death […] and I [am] very lucky to still be alive after the accident” Tsalikis says. 

      According to Kuciara “just something about being covered in art that is sentimental to you is really cool.