Think Before You Ink

     A person’s image describes a lot about his or her characteristics and personality. On a daily basis, people unknowingly judge others based on one’s appearance, and whether you like to hear it or not, it’s the truth. Before two people exchange words and short conversations with each other, they both subliminally form pre-judgements against one another based on clothing, dialect, and the overall initial presentation that one has made.
     The common and popular trend among teenagers and young adults today is to express themselves through the work of body art, more commonly known as tattoos. A tattoo is a permanent image drawn with ink on your skin that represents or symbolizes something. Tattoos have become predominately visible on the skin of teenagers within the concluding years of the last decade and have only grown more and more popular since then. Tattoos and teenagers are definitely here to stay as they are the latest and newest fascination and because they are, after all, permanent.
     Teachers and other adults may not exactly feel comfortable with the new tattoo movement, but with each generation comes something controversial that eventually becomes socially acceptable. The generation that raised the ambitious teenagers of today have the right to preach caution when getting tattoos, though, because they definitely come with a lot of risk factors, especially if not done professionally.

The risks of permanent tattoos:

Infection – Dirty needles can pass infections like hepatitis and HIV.
Allergies – Allergies to various ink pigments in both permanent and temporary tattoos have been reported and can cause problems.
Scarring – Unwanted scar tissue may form when getting or removing a tattoo.
Granulomas – These small knots or bumps may form around material that the body perceives as foreign, such as particles of tattoo pigment.
MRI complications – People may have swelling or burning in the tattoo when they have magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This happens rarely and does not last long.

What are your feelings about tattoos on every other teenager walking around on campus at Westside High School now? Are tattoos attractive to you? Are they plain awful to you? Whether you hate them or love them… remember to thoroughly THINK before you INK!