Recent trends indicate that more people under the age of 18 are getting tattoos.

They appear to be slowly gaining more acceptance amongst younger age groups

Senior Layne Garrison

“I got my tattoo over winter break. I got it because I’m really into music, and the verse just kind of spoke to me.”

Why that bible verse over any other?
“I’m really into music. My Young Life leader showed me the verse and ever since then I’ve really liked it because it humbles me to do what I love to do for the best reason.

What does it say?
“Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything. Ephesians 5:19.”

“(They) originally messed it up. The guy thought a word was spelled a certain way, and I couldn’t see it due to its position on my body, and he just tattooed an extra letter. I did get it fixed, but I didn’t pay anything for it, and they were really cool about it, and it looks better in my opinion. Reliability had nothing to do with it. It was just a simple mistake that had a permanent effect. The tattooist was phenomenal, but nobody caught the extra letter. If you are going to get a tattoo, especially a big one with a lot of lettering, make sure to have someone proofread it. Others may think it’s a big deal, but I think the way you have to handle it is that everyone messes up, and you have to move on rather than sit and dwell over it. I still strongly encourage Carmel Tattoo and think that they did an incredible job. It was such a big deal to get a tattoo, but you just have to take a minute and look over it.”

Junior Carly Moore

When did you get your tattoo and why?
“I got my tattoo when I was 16. My mom went with me. I went to a super sketchy place in Indianapolis. It was an inspiration for myself because I was bullied when I was younger. It took a lot out of me so when I got my tattoo I just thought about that and I realized I need to love myself for who I am and love myself for how God views me.”

What does it say?
“‘Love me for who I am’ in French.”

Senior Adam Kremer

“I got both of my tattoos the summer before I turned 18, my parents had to sign off on them. The one on my shoulder is for my friend Jordan Moss who passed away my eighth grade year. The one on my ribs, my whole family got them when (my mom) was cured from breast cancer.”

“I felt like I needed something more for myself than anything else to always have a reminder of what he went through and to make me think every day how grateful I am to still be here and get to do what I do.”

“It was a tribute to my mom. She went through five years of chemotherapy and pain and cancer, so we all figured we can go through 45 minutes of pain as a tribute.”